Titans Zero: Justice for All
by spystory007
Summary: Disclaimer: Read Titans Zero first! Full summary inside. Rated R for language, violence, flashbacks, and implied sexual situations. RaexOC BBxOC both hero and villain centered. Sequel Up!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans nor do I own FARC, but I do however own: Mason Thorn, members of Unit Zero, Ramon Jalisco, and Alejandro Salazar.

Warning: Read Titans Zero before reading this story.

Summary: The Titans and their new spy allies Unit Zero persue the arms dealer Mason Thorn into the heart of Colombia where a new civil war is being waged. John and Raven seek to move on to the next level in their relationship, BB and Sarah's relationship comes under scrutiny from Dan, and Dan himself slowly spirals downward after killing Colonel White. Meanwhile, Mason has to deal with a defector in his organization who is now under the proection of the Titans and Unit Zero. But while he plots the assassination, Mason witnesses more and more despicable actions committed by his clients, and he slowly feels am emotion he long believed dead in him: compasion for the people. But as Columbia begins to burn to the ground is it too late for the wrongs to be righted and for there to be JUSTICE FOR ALL?

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Prologue

Rain fell from the dark and previously bright and peaceful Columbian sky. The camp the rain fell on was bustling and full of life as soldiers scrambled from one area to another. But these were not normal soldiers, they were guerillas of the infamous and revered organization called FARC. FARC was the most prominent threat to the U.S. backed Columbian government due to the fact that they were not a small insurgency like the one that plagued Iraq, but an army in itself with massive numbers, control over the southern territories of Columbia, and enough weapons to wage a war. Which, now, it was.

But that is a different story for a different time, what we must focus on is a single tent in the heart of the guerilla camp that was wide and a sickly color green for camouflage. Within it a council of FARC's most prominent and influential members had gathered to pass judgment on their arms supplier, a certain Mason Thorn. Mason stood before them in his dark suit, with the upper buttons of his silk dark-purple shirt unbuttoned to allow his skin to breath.

Although no matter how nicely he dressed, his physical appearance was appalling. His face was still swollen from the bruises he had received days before in Jump City, it still hurt him to breath from where he had broken his ribs, and he did his best to hide the slight limp in his right leg from where it had been cut with a KA-BAR combat knife. Who had done this to him? None other than the Teen Titans and the leader of the spy unit Unit Zero, John Garret.

Mason had attempted to steal a nuclear warhead from the United States with a little help of an insider he had inside the US army intelligence. Mason's plan, however, not only failed miserably but also colossusly backfired. He was forced to flee the country he was born in with no weapons, which pissed off his client that had paid him large amounts of money for him to steal the warhead. This defeat had caused not only damage to his face and pride, but also his reputation. His clients around the world began to doubt his word, which was essential to completing any illegal deal in the world. And to top things all off, he now had a traitor in his outfit here in Colombia. Which brought him here, seeking the aid of his FARC clients.

The council stared at him with judgmental eyes, some were dressed in uniforms and others in expensive suits like Mason's. There were two dressed in suits that stood out amongst the men, the first was Mason's first client since he joined the business, the commander-in-chief of FARC: Ramon Jalisco. Ramon sat in the center of the long council table that stood before Mason and was dressed in an expensive white and blue suit. Mason didn't need to worry about him, a rumor may be circulating saying that Ramon was slowly slipping into insanity, but Mason knew who's side he was on.

Another suit he didn't have to worry about sat directly to the right of Ramon. His name was Alejandro Salazar. Salazar was Ramon's right hand man and was in charge of the drug trade that FARC was heavily invested in and as a result was responsible for a large percentage if not all of FARC's income. He was dressed in a gray suit that stood out against his dark skin, much like his boss, and was entirely business minded; which explained why he and Mason seemed to get along so well.

"We have heard of your recent failure," A general on the council said in Spanish, "so you must understand if this council needs some 'proof' of your commitment to FARC and reassurances that your American arrogance will not damage our organization."

Mason internally winced at that but kept his cool and remained emotionless before the council, many of his clients had given him shit because of his nationality but Mason never said anything; why should he care what these people thought of him? "Proof?" Mason repeated in an inquisitive monotone the betrayed nothing.

Many on the council nodded.

Mason looked each of them in the eyes, even with the one that was bloodshot, and finally spoke, "How long have I serviced this organization? Hmmm? Years, and in all of those years of faithful service backed by my unwavering word have I ever missed a shipment or ever showed any sign that I would betray your trust?" He paused as he let his words, which were spoken in near perfect Spanish, set in, "And now, after this fruitful business relationship, you question me, and why? Because ONE operation went bad for a client that was in no way connected to any of you ladies and gentlemen."

"Proof?" he echoed again, "Here is more 'proof'." Mason walked over to several crates that were stacked beside him and opened one up and pulled out of it an AK-47, the wheaties of weapons. "The Klashnikov automatic rifle model made in 1947, a weapon that is guaranteed to never to jam. A gas operated, rotating bolt action weapon that fires six hundred rounds per minute at an effective range of three hundred meters…"

"We know this weapon," another General spoke, "you have supplied us with countless AK-47's."

"Exactly, I have always been there to supply you with a weapon that fits your needs and now I stand before you with more than just this common weapon," Mason placed the AK-47 on the ground and opened another box and produced a land mine. "The M18A1 Claymore anti-personnel mine, an excellent alternative to the unreliable and often times useless IED's that you have been used to working with for the past few years. Easy to assemble, small, light weight, and effective enough to remove an armored car as well as a small squad of soldiers."

Mason put that down and opened up a different box, this time he removed a large green cylinder, a rocket launcher. "The Javelin rocket launcher, a weapon just as effective if not more so than the RPG's you have worked with before. Why? Because this weapon is used by the your opposition, the United States military, and it is specially designed to be effective against those pesky tanks that have damaged your ranks time and again."

Mason placed that back into its box and said, "Also," he snapped his fingers at one of his men who was standing near by. He approached Mason and handed him a small box with a red bow on top. Mason walked over to one of the men who was dressed in suits and laid it down in front of him, "A little some thing for the Misses. Tomorrow is your anniversary, correct Julio?"

The man opened the box to see a diamond ring that must have cost a fortune, any a ring any woman would have hoped to wear one day. Julio looked up into Mason's face and Mason asked, "Did you really think I would have forgotten?"

Mason stepped back and spoke again, this time to the whole council, "This is the proof that you can still trust me, I proved a better product, at a better price, and I personally interact with my clients to the point that they are like my adoptive family. And during my stay here all weapons that I will supply you will be fifty percent off."

The men and women at the table seemed to look at each other and nodded in agreement, obviously impressed by Mason's business prowess. "And all I ask," Mason continued, "is your aid in the time I need it most."

Ramon concealed a smile and looked down left and right of the council table. "I think I know in which direction this council will vote Mason," he said, "but just in case: all in favor?"

All members of the council raised their hands in agreement to aid Mason. "Very well," Ramon said in a deep commanding voice, "You have our aid Mason, but if you betray our trust, we will not be easily won over by such… Gifts."

"Wise policy," Mason hissed, "But allow me to assure this council that your trust is not misplaced." Mason motioned to one of his men who then spoke into a radio, a small caravan of trucks arrived in the camp and the FARC soldiers began unloading several boxes, large and small, that were filled with weapons and ammunition.

"You will receive the information tomorrow Mason, and we will continue to supply you with whatever your heart desires so long as you answer to our calls whenever we need you, are we in accord?"

Mason nodded.

"Excellent," Ramon then motioned to his men who then began loading several briefcases filled with unmarked large bill into one of Mason's trucks. "We'll be in touch. Meeting is adjourned."

And with that the various members of FARC dispersed to return back to their areas of business and control over the organization. Mason stood where he was until he was approached by Alejandro Salazar. "Good to see you again Mason." Salazar said in a professional manner.

"Alex." Mason said with an acknowledging nod. Mason had always liked doing business with Alejandro and didn't mind his company unlike others. They weren't 'friends' in Mason's eyes but couldn't help but admire the man for his business savy and his own strict code of conduct. "I trust the coke business has treated you well."

Alejandro put hand into the pocket of his expensive silk suit jacket and said, "I'm doing fine for myself, but this war Ramon started is bleeding my business, the Americans are cracking down and I'm losing more and more shipments."

"Glad to know someone else is suffering in the business world." Mason said with a slight smirk, he never liked being around people of any kind but like I said, could tolerate Alejandro. A couple of young soldiers ran by with their new guns in their hands. "Jesus," Mason exhaled, "Your recruits get younger every year."

"They're not recruits." Alejandro said, attempting to hide his inner disdain as to what the young soldiers truly were.

Mason immediately caught on to what he was saying. Boy soldiers, children kidnapped and forced into life as soldiers for FARC. "Ramon's war has gone so bad he's sunk that low as to use children?" Mason's emotionless mask was unphased, but deep inside something clicked in Mason's subconscious; _Children, not children. _

Ramon had declared war on the Columbian government a few years ago, and his war had been long and bloody resulting in the deaths of countless people; innocent and guilty. Mason didn't care too much for the Colombian government, they were no different than any other South American government, and he just couldn't bring himself to care for FARC either despite their 'noble' intentions to 'free' the people. In the end one seemed just as corrupt as the other and he couldn't care less about this war they fought or those caught in it. But this revelation sparked something in him, _Children is a step too far._

Alejandro shook his head, he didn't like it either. The two may have been criminals, but at least they had some standards; as low as they were.

Mason sighed, and winced a little from the pain in his ribs, "Sorry to leave so soon Alex, but I have problems of my own to finish." He looked into the northern sky, it wasn't just the informer who was his problem. He could tell they were coming, coming to stop him. The Teen Titans and their new CIA allies, Unit Zero. He wouldn't face them outright, that would be the dumbest thing any man could do, no he would bide his time and wait for the proper moment to strike. The new war in Colombia was about to heat up.

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Looking forward to your reviews. And if my anonymous pal is still reading, thank you for your last review and I think you will like this story as it goes deeper into Mason's character and history. 


	2. Debriefing in Bogota

here's a short chapter, for ya.

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A small, but luxurious, private plane landed at El Dorado International Airport just west of downtown Bogotá. The white plane came to a skidding halt on the run way and finally pulled in to a reserved area for it to taxi and park. When the plane finally came to a complete stop in this reserved area it was immediately surrounded by a combination of black SUVs and military cars filled with Columbian soldiers. The door to the plane opened and a mobile staircase was moved next to it to allow it's special passengers to finally leave: it's passengers were the Teen Titans and the members of Unit Zero.

"Oh man," Cyborg said as he climbed down the staircase getting cricks out of his half-human and half-robot neck, "Thirteen hours on a plane, my neck is killing me! If the CIA hadn't stocked the plane with so much cool gear I would have lost it."

Beast Boy wasn't too far behind him, clutching his ears in pain. "Dude," he said, "do you have any idea how painful it is when you have ears this size while your on a plane? They pop constantly, and it feels like a bomb goes off in there."

"Ohhh," Sarah said in a cute manor as she followed behind him closely, "poor baby, let me kiss it and make it better." She kissed his ears and his cheek affectionately and caused Beast Boy to blush a deep shade of crimson.

"For the last time," Dan said in an annoyed voice as he followed behind them, "You know the rules I gave you two when you started dating: Don't pull any of that lovey-dovey shit while I'm around or in ear shot of you. God's sake, acting like two damn high school kids, Next thing you know they're skipping out of missions to make-out in the hallways." Dan had always acted like he didn't like the new relationship that had developed between Beast Boy and Sarah, true he did realize that Sarah couldn't have picked 'em any better, but that didn't mean Dan couldn't threaten Beast Boy's life every now and then.

Starfire and Robin had followed behind them, then came the new (and more secretive) couple of John and Raven. John's arm was still in a sling and he still felt pain all over his body, but since he had Raven acting as his own private nurse to heal and remove his pain whenever he felt it, he had no room to complain.

Anyway, John and Raven had realized something after the incident in Jump City, that they truly cared about each other. Raven had helped John out with his own private emotional problems and had saved his life more than once. And John slowly overtime began to feel familiar emotions begin to develop within him for the young beautiful witch. He had felt a love like this before, ironically enough it happen the last time he was in Colombia, but it ended disastrously. The love was mutual, and so was John and Raven's thoughts as to keep the whole relationship a secret… For now anyway.

They stood on the tarmac as people in Colombian military uniforms got out and formed a perimeter around the plane and the people from the black SUVs also got out, one of them directly approached all of them and the members of Unit Zero snapped to attention.

The man before him was professionally dressed in suit that was fully buttoned up despite the heat, his hair was beginning to grey and he looked to be in his late forties. The Titans didn't know who he was, but the members of Unit Zero knew who he was all too well, he was their boss. But to John he was more than that, he was the father of someone John had failed to protect, someone both men loved and cared about, and as a result John stared straight forward into nothing much rather than look the father in his eyes. This man was Commander Edward Blake, father of Kate Blake.

Blake scanned those who stood before him now, his eyes lingering on John for a moment, then said in a calm manner, "At ease."

Robin took a step forward and extended his hand saying, "I'm Robin from the Teen Titans and this is my team back here, we decided to come with to help you down here."

Blake shook Robins hand and replied, "Commander Edward Blake, and we, along with the Columbian government, are grateful for your support. Please, step inside my care we have a lot to talk about, and welcome to Bogotá."

The Titans and Unit Zero began to file into the car the same way they filed out of the plane. Raven was directly behind John and she had noticed and felt John's emotions and asked, "That's Kate's father isn't it?"

John nodded, "It's my problem, and I'll handle it."

They all stepped into the long black, and most likely bullet proof, Limousine that was more than large enough to hold all of them. Blake said nothing, and waited until they began to pull away from the airport before he produced a file and handed it to Robin. He said, "You picked a good time to show up you guys, not only is your boy Mason here, but by the looks of things this whole country is going to Hell in a hand basket."

"A year or so ago, the newly appointed Commander-in-Chief of FARC, a large and dangerous narco-terrorist group, a guy by the name of Ramon Jalisco, gave a formal decleration of war against the Columbian government and just about everyone and everything who are in any way remotely associated to it."

"Like civilians?" Cyborg asked

"Exactly," Blake replied, "The son of a bitch since then has been fighting an all out war against the Colombian government and has taken control of the southern provinces, hence all the security when we picked you up. No government work of our happens unless we have the protection of the AUC."

"AUC?" Beast Boy asked, but his curiosity was put to rest when Sarah told him and everyone else that they were Columbia's special forces.

"Anyway," Blake continued, "after the various SNAFUs made by the CIA regarding regime change, the CIA's operations have been severally hampered by the bosses back in Washington, so as a result we've been able to do Jack shit in regards to stopping this son of a bitch."

"So do you want us to take him down?" Dan asked as he took a sip from a bottle of water that he had been drinking for the longest time, at least everybody thought it was water.

"Well he is a confirmed client to your guy Mason so if we take both of them down at the same time then we wont have violated our restrictions because Washington gave all of you no restrictions in the pursuit of Mason Thorn. Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Mason is the priority," Starfire said slowly, "but this Ramon person is also acceptable."

"Smart girl," Blake complimented, "and thanks to recent turns of events we have the perfect bait for luring Mason Thorn right to us. We are currently holding the informer at one of our safe houses here in Bogotá. It's only a matter of time before he comes a knocking on our door, that's when you grab him and ask him where we can find Ramon."

Everyone nodded it seemed like a smart plan, seemed like one anyway.

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Review soon please! And thank you Mr. Annonymous for your post, glad to know you like my villain, and there's more to come too pal. Next chapter, the Titans and Unit Zero meet the informer and adjust to their new settings. 


	3. The Informer's Plight

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A man stared out of a sound proof and bullet proof glass window as the sun began to set. His foot tapped jittered up and down nervously as he took another drag from his twentieth cigarette in the last hour. He was uneasy and nervous, that much was obvious, anybody would be if their former boss wanted to paint Bogotá red with his blood. His name was Juan Fuentes, he stood tall and would have been fairly good looking if it wasn't for the horrible state he was in.

Juan's tan skin had turned pale from worry, bags hung under his eyes due from lack of sleep out of fear that he wouldn't awaken, his fingernails were jagged from him gnawing at them constantly, his breath smelled from all the cigarettes he had taken, and he kept a specially prescribed bottle of medicine nearby to take care of the ulcers he was dealing with from the stress; the man was so frightened and stressed that he had started to vomit blood.

"This is shit man," he said as smoke was hurriedly puffed out of his lungs, "I came here with a simple deal: you give me money and protection, then I tell you everything you want to know about Mason Thorn." He turned away from the view of the city in the distance and said to Blake, "So why am I still waiting here?"

"Your request is being processed Mr. Fuentes" Blake said diplomatically, "You asked for a lot of money and these kinds of requests take time to authorize."

"Yeah?" Juan said unconvinced, "Well that's good and all but I got a wife and two daughters to feed I need that money, and I need to get the fuck out of Columbia and go someplace safe where, I don't know, _Mason can't find me!_"

"This safe house is protected by AUC soldiers." Blake reasurred.

"When are you gonna get it through your head?" Juan said becoming more and more agitated, "THESE MONKEYS CAN'T STOP HIM! He's still gonna find me, then he's gonna personally cut his way through all your fucking little soldiers and he's GOING TO KILL ME! HE IS GOING TO WALK IN THROUGH THAT DOOR AND HE IS GOING TO FUCKING MUDER ME! AND THIS IS HOW YOU PROPOSE TO STOP HIM?! A COUPLE OF CROOKED SOLDIERS?!"

"No," Blake said honestly, "That's why I brought in some friends of mine…" Blake opened the door and ushered in the members of Unit Zero and then the Teen Titans.

Juan looked nervous and unimpressed (mostly nervous) when he saw John, Dan, and Sarah. But his mood quickly brightened from despair to hope of seeing himself grow old when he saw the Teen Titans walk in. He was a criminal after all, and every criminal knows about the Teen Titans. He knew he was safe now.

Robin extended a hand in friendship when he entered, but Juan simply ran forward and hugged Robin tightly. He starting to shout his gratitude and thanks to God and Jesus in, at first, perfect English; then it became rapid fire and almost unintelligible Spanish. "Thank you, Thank you, _madre de dios_, Thank you."

It took a while to calm Juan down but when he finally did he wiped his eyes and regained his composer, quickly letting go of Robin. "I'm sorry," Juan quickly apologized, "It's just that I've been staying here for a few days now and they haven't provided me with any protection accept for those AUC pigs."

The Titans looked at John inquisitively as if to ask what Juan meant when he used the word "pigs". John quickly explained, "The AUC do act as the Columbian special forces but they have often been accused of corruption and selling drugs just like FARC."

"And they can be bribed with a can of soup!" Juan interrupted, "I've stayed awake nights fearing that Mason had paid off one of them to kill me while I slept! You have to protect me, please! I have a wife and two small daughters. I should never have gotten involved in this in the first place, but now I am and I need you to protect me."

"Why'd you get involved in the first place if you knew it was such a bad idea?" Starfire asked.

"I had no other choice!" Juan said defending himself, "I had just left FARC, I had handled various drug deals in other countries and I had no other way to pay to feed my family. Mason knew of my history and put me in charge of reporting back to him to all of the events that transpire here in Columbia that are worth noting, I was his eyes and ears for years!"

"Report to him?" Robin asked, "You know where Mason's hiding spots are in the world?"

Juan nodded. "I know many of them in many different countries. But I wont tell you anything until I am paid and your CIA has guaranteed me a new safe life in the States. And I mean a fool proof new identity for me and my family, or Mason will still come and he will still find me!"

"You fear the guy that much?"

"Are you kidding?" Juan said as his eyes went bug eyed with fear, "That young man is the Angel of Death! If a man steals from Mason, then Mason cuts off his hands. If a man lies or deceives Mason, such as feeding him false information regarding someone like me; he will cut out his tongue. If a man betrays him like I am, Mason will hunt you to the ends of the earth, and then he will kill you in a way that is the most painful and will strike in you and all others the most fear!"

"I've seen him do it before too! Several times I saw him do such things. He forced a man to dig his own grave, and then he…" Juan stopped where he was, shuddered in disgust at the memory, and then took a drag from his cigarette to calm his nerves. "Either you protect me or you stop him yourself. Either way, I cannot stay here in Columbia, Mason is too powerful here in this country. Too many friends in high places, almost all of them are FARC."

John nodded to Raven as to give her a signal. She began to send soothing images telepathically to Juan when John started to speak, "Mr. Fuentes, Juan," John paused as he waited for Raven's images to take effect, "If Mason does come for you, we'll stop him, and not just that, I'll kill him. I swear to God, I will put a bullet in him myself. I will bring you his head if that makes you feel better, sling or no sling. Just know this, while me and my friends are here he can't touch you. I mean, they're heroes after all."

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The meeting ended rather quickly, Juan went back to smoking after they left and still stared out at the city while he stood in the Safe House's enclosed balcony. Dan disposed of the empty water bottle and left without a word to his own room, he was being way too quiet lately and it would have worried those who knew him well if they weren't busy with their own relationships.

Sara and Beast Boy left to take a look around the Safe House and get used to the place, and probably find someplace quiet and alone. Cyborg was getting used to the security system interface of the Safe house. And Starfire and Robin took a walk outside together, hand in hand.

"Guess that leaves just you and me," John said slyly to Raven, "and I was wondering if you were doing anything tonight?"

Raven suppressed a smile as she could sense John's inner hesitance at what he wanted to say. "I've got a good book back in my suit case…"

"Ohh…" John said, suddenly the stiffness in his arm was less obvious, dulled by his hesitance. He stood up to an army of Special Ops soldiers a week ago, but he couldn't bring himself to ask out one girl.

"But I think I'm open tomorrow." Raven said, she was enjoying toying with him.

"Alright, well…" John managed, "Maybe I could show you around the city tomorrow. And I know this great little place to eat…"

"John?" Raven asked, "Are you asking me out?"

"A little bit, yeah."

Raven considered it, killing him with his own impatience. Then she flashed that smile of hers and said, "Tomorrow at one, meet me back here." Then she turned and left.

John smiled and triumphantly, he would have pumped his fist in the air if his left arm wasn't in a sling. Things were looking up.

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Dan closed the door behind him in his room. He felt dizzy and shaky, almost impossible for him to keep his balance. Dan knew all too well why, he hadn't been drinking water out of that bottle, he had been drinking vodka.

Ever since he had to kill the Colonel, a man who was like a father to him, Dan had found comfort and solace in his drinking. Whenever he was around the others he tried his best to hide what he was doing and try to keep in character by acting as they would expect he would. But alone, he would venture out to some bar or just drink from a bottle of whiskey in his room. Either way he drank alone.

He shouldn't have been doing this too himself, he knew what it was doing to him: it was slowing him down, making him useless in the field. Before he had control over his drinking, now he couldn't stop. He needed help, but maybe just one more shot or two of whiskey before asking for help.

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Tell me what you think. Can Dan be saved? Will Juan Fuentes live to see the end of the story? Will Mason be caught? Wait and see is all I'll say. Next chapter, Mason contemplates his history and motives, asking: Who am I? 


	4. Who Am I?

Here you go loyal readers, Chapter four. It's a little lengthy I do admit, but it's worth it, especially if you're a fan of Mason Thorn. Enjoy.

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The same day the Titans and Unit Zero arrived in Bogotá, a small alarm clock was going off in a dark concrete bedroom. Mason's icy eyes slowly stirred and opened, blinking away the sleep from his eyes. He slammed his hand against the sleep button of the alarm that sat on top of a stack of ammunition that acted as a night stand. He sat up from the cheap creaky bed and allowed the thin sheets to roll off of him.

His chest was bare, as he always slept without a shirt in equatorial countries, and it showed off the bruises and scars from his past, both old and new. He rubbed his eyes again and then stood up, walking across the cold concrete floor in bare feet as he stepped into the makeshift bathroom and took a nice hot shower. He then re-dressed himself into khaki pants and sleeveless t-shirt, not his customary expensive black suit due to the fact that he wasn't going to meet any clients and didn't need to impress anybody.

He looked himself in the mirror as he dried his short black hair. The swelling had gone down in the bruises in his face and he was quickly returning back to his old handsome self. He cleaned his wounds and changed the dressings of his wounds. He walked back into the living room of his make shift hideout and sighed, how the fuck did he end up here?

His 'hideout' was the basement of a parking complex in downtown Bogotá. He was heavily invested in the company that built the parking structure, he frequently used them to wash his money, and pulled a few favors to make sure that the electronic lock on 4-digit lock on the door was changed so only Mason and his men could use it. The basement was intended to be used as a lounge for security guards who worked late nights, now it was Mason's one star hotel room. Sure he had to lay low before, but this was ridiculous.

It was dark and cold with no carpet and only a bare and emotionless concrete floor and walls with humming halogen lights above him. There was a cheap bed with the make-shift night stand from ammo boxes, a small tv, and a desk with a laptop computer right next to the door. The door, there was a small envelope slipped under it.

Mason booted up his computer and then tapped into the close-circuit building surveillance to see who had slipped the envelope under the door; it was a man in a suit, probably one of Alex's men. Realizing that the envelope was virtually harmless, he picked it up and pulled out its contents: a single flash drive.

He hooked it up to his computer and read its contents, he smiled as the location of the safe house and its layout was displayed before him. Power lines, phone lines, water and sewage, guard posts and descriptions of the on-site security systems; everything a hit man needs to plan out his attack. Thank you AUC.

Then the confident smile slipped away from his face as he saw a stolen memo from the CIA which stated that they were bringing in the heavy artillery to protect Fuentes. Unit Zero, and the Titans. Mason cursed under his breath, Unit Zero he could handle maybe, but the Titans? Might as well put a bullet in his own head and save them the trouble.

Think Mason, think, there has to be a way to get through all of this. Heroes… God damn them for their constant intrusions. He rubbed his temples and decided he need some time to think. He focused all his thoughts on ways to get around, or get rid of, the Titans and nothing came to him. He gave a frustrated sigh, heroes were on his trail now… How did he get himself into this mess? What did he do to get here? Who was he anyway?

And to make the mess worse, he was supplying Ramon Jalisco. Sure, he had worked with Jalisco before and other like him; but that was before he started to force kids into working for him. The thought clicked those emotions within him again, _Children is a step too far, why should we work for him if he is using children to do his dirty work? _Stop it, he said to that thing in himself, why should we care about these people? This war is their own doing, why should we feel anything about it? He pushed the emotions back down into his subconscious, feelings such as those were unwelcome in Mason's world.

But what had made Mason's world this way? What had caused him to become so cold and indifferent? Mason's mind wandered back to those child soldiers, they were probably as old as Vincent would have been today. Vincent… He tried to keep himself from falling into the uneasy sea of memories but it was too late, he was already there. Vincent… My little brother… _Vincent…

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_

_Of all the memories in Mason's childhood, the most prominent were those that involved his little brother, Vincent. Vincent was small and four years younger than Mason and often referred to his older brother as "Macey". This would have bother an older Mason, but it didn't then, and it didn't bother him when his little brother said it._

_Vincent was small and fun loving. His hair was shaggy and a dark blonde, a combination of Mason's hair color and his mother's. And unlike the cautious and calculating Mason, he would rarely ever think anywhere into the distant future beyond his next hug or the next time "Macey" was free to play. _

_Mason remembered how Vincent would sneak up on him while he was hard at work at study and homework and then Vincent would pounce oh his older brother, trying to playfully wrestle him to the ground. And whenever Mason would tell Vincent that he was busy and Vincent would stare at him with his big round innocent eyes and stare until Mason would finally break under his brother's pressure and play with him._

_Vincent was kind and gentle, handing over his allowance in fist fulls over to homeless men and women and to charities near-by whenever he and Mason would pass them on the way to the park to play. Vincent was also so gentle, that he refused to even chase after butterflies out of fear that he would hurt it and would be brought to tears whenever he stepped on so much as an ant._

_Vincent had also acted as a guide for a young Mason to learn the importance of responsibility, with a little help from his mother too. His mother… A God-send for a still morally developing Mason, his mother was just as caring as Vincent, but also a woman of strict morals. She was a strikingly beautiful woman who was tall and slender with ample curves and long blonde hair and deep brown hair. If Mason hadn't known better, he would have confused her for an angel when he was younger._

_But it was her personality that Mason found to be the most attractive quality to his mother. She always said to stand up for the right thing, to never pick a fight with someone no matter what, and above all else he must protect his little brother; and for Mason, her word was the word of God._

"_Don't let anyone hurt your brother Mason," She had said, "even if it means you must be hurt in his stead, don't let anyone hurt Vincent."_

"_Even if it's Walter?" Mason had asked as he sat next to her on his soft comfy bed in his room._

"_Especially if it's your Father." She reassured and corrected at the same time._

_Walter Thorn, Mason's father, the monster. Mason hated to refer to Walter as his 'father', it implied that the two were somehow alike, that he was like Walter somehow. And that was Mason's greatest fear, that at some genetic or psychological level he would end up like Walter: An evil, monstrous, brute._

_Walter Thorn was the owner of a shipping company that had made him and his family instance millionaires. And if money is power, then Walter was proof that power corrupts. Walter was an alcoholic, whenever there was the slightest infraction on Walter's life, a drop in profit or someone looking just looking at him wrong, he would resort to drinking away his insignificant problems. And when that happened, he would get violent. And afterwards he would donate to charities to make hide his sins._

_Walter would frequently return to the large Thorn household, drunk and stinking of alcohol, and he would take out his frequently easily incurred wrath out on his frightened children. Mason made his mother proud, he took responsibility for Vincent, hiding the young boy and then acting like he didn't know where he was when Walter asked. This always brought about a fierce beating, but Mason figured out early in life that sometimes, you have to take a few beatings to get somewhere in life. For Mason, the beatings gave him character._

_Mason at first blamed himself, thinking that the beatings were his fault. Then he realized that it was Walter's own selfishness that was the problem, and after a while he didn't mind the beatings anymore. But what Walter did to his mother, THAT was unforgivable. _

_Whenever she would try to get in the way and stop Walter from beating Mason, he would slap her once or twice. But that wasn't what enraged Mason, what did enrage him was when Walter would grab his mother by her long beautiful blonde hair and drag her into the bed room. He would slam the door behind him and Mason tried to cover his ears so he didn't have to listen to his mother's pleas and screams. Then when IT was over, Walter would pass out and leave Mason's mother sobbing herself to sleep._

_These events helped to shape Mason's well hidden sense of honor and nobility. Mason wanted to be everything his father was not. Where his father had abused his children, treated women like objects he could simply use and toss aside, and also hid from his misdeeds. Mason preferred to be honest and except his wrong doings, he also became very chivalrous and treated every women he would meet with the utmost respect and kindness, and although he didn't see anything worth liking in most adults he saw children as precious and interesting and as a result was offended when men would abuse their children… Like Walter._

_Mason still maintained his humanity though, his mother and his brother made sure he was still a decent human being. His mother still tutored Mason in the manners of being responsible and noble and chivalrous. And he would always make time to play with young innocent Vincent, and protecting him from that bastard Walter. But one day, his days as a member of the human race ended when the unthinkable happened. Vincent disappeared._

_He was found days later, dead from blunt force trauma to the head. The police investigated but got nowhere, eventually the case was buried. But not for Mason, Mason knew who killed his brother. The night before Vincent disappeared, Mason heard a sound while he slept. Muffled screams from his brother's room, and the smell of alcohol._

_Mason knew all too well that it was Walter who killed his brother. That day Mason had decided that it had too end, Vincent didn't deserve to die. Vincent was good and kind and a perfect example of what human beings should be, and Walter had taken all of that away. Mason's blue eyes became as cold as ice that day as he decided, that he would have his vengeance… No, he would have his justice.

* * *

_

Mason was pulled out of his familiar memories by the monotonous ring tone of one of his pre-paid cell phones. Mason picked it up to see that the caller ID was listed as private: either it was Alex or Ramon. Mason hit the little green button to answer the call and pressed it to his ear. "Yes?"

"I need you back at the camp," He heard Ramon's voice say, "Bring as much C4 as you can."

Mason rubbed his eyes and said, "Ramon, what part of 'I'm in hiding' aren't you getting?"

"What part of your promise aren't you getting?" Ramon quipped, "Just bring the C4."

Mason gave a tired sigh and hung up the phone. He tossed it back onto the desk and slipped on a fresh dark suit. He knew it was a bad idea to wear a dark suit in a country like Columbia, but he had figured a long time ago that if he was going to be so involved with death he might as well dress like he's going to a funeral.

Mason arrived at the camp with a truck filled with boxes that were full of C4. Mason hoped down from the back of the truck and walked into the tent he knew Ramon and his boys would be in. When Mason walked in he saw that indeed Ramon was in the tent, along with Alex and several of Ramon's best men in uniform. They were all gathered around a table, except for Alex who was sitting down in a chair away from the table with a look of disgust.

"Alright here it is," Mason announced as he stepped towards the table, "Where do you want it…" Mason would have continued but he froze when he looked down and he saw what Alex was unhappy about and what everyone was looking at. There was a map of the city with two areas circled, two targets for the C4: a school and a park.

There were pictures of the school as well as a map for it that were handed out to knew students who didn't know where they were going, on the map there were several triangles and a few X's. The triangles, Mason knew, where placements for soldiers. The X's were placements for bombs.

Mason looked at a satellite picture of the park, there was a fair set up, and several X's and no triangles. It didn't take long for Mason's criminal brain to figure things out, they were going to hold a school hostage, and then detonate several explosives and kill God knows how many children down at a fair. Ramon was planning an attack that was going to kill children… God no, not children…

Mason left when the meeting ended and thanked God for giving him a photographic memory. He remembered the maps and the placements of the bombs and soldiers perfectly. Mason knew he shouldn't be bother by this, that he should just shrug it off and not worry about it, it wasn't his problem. But something deep inside said otherwise, something inside of Mason's emotionally inept self told him that he had to do something. Mason struggled again to push it back down but the thing staid where it was.

On the ride back he could almost picture all those kids, so small and innocent. Then blown to bits and murdered over a war they weren't responsible for. They didn't deserve this, just like how Vincent didn't deserve what happened to him. He could almost see Vincent watching him and asking him inquisitively, "Why do you help these people Macey?"

Why indeed young Vincent. Mason put his hands in his head yelled out in frustration, he should be worrying about the informer and not about a bunch of kids who had been given a death sentence by FARC. But he did care, he didn't want to see any of those children get hurt. God damn this thing, this caring emotional thing, inside of him. Mason immediately figure out a way to handle things without getting involved, but he was going to need help.

* * *

Do you like? Please review soon! Oh and don't pity Mason for his past, if there's one thing he hates it's pity. Anyway, see ya later pals. 


	5. Good Morning BB

A short chapter for ya. I'm unfortunately suffering that most dreaded of creative diseases, WRITER'S BLOCK! So don't worry if I don't update according to my usual schedule. Anyway, this chapter's for anybod who likes my pairing of Sarah and BB. Enjoy.

* * *

Beast Boy slowly stirred as he slowly awoke from a pleasant sleep in the guest room reserved for him in the CIA's safe house. The room was messy, to say the least, with clothes both dirty and clean scattered about. He slowly began to pull himself out of a pleasant night's sleep and sat up in his comfortable bed and jumped a little when he saw Sarah standing in the doorway.

"Morning sleepy head." Sarah said with a smile on her face. She was wearing a brown skirt that was similar in length to Starfire's, it showed off her perfect legs that Beast Boy couldn't help but admire, and a white sleeveless top that showed stopped just above her belly button. "Nice abs."

Beast Boy looked down and saw that the sheets had fallen off when he jumped and it showed that he wasn't wearing a t-shirt. Beast Boy at first felt a little awkward and embarrassed but, Beast Boy being Beast Boy, quickly turned things around to his advantage. "Yeah, well I worked out last night just for you." He flexed and showed off and Sarah giggled.

"Well I hope you didn't pull anything Mr. Muscles." Sarah said between giggles, and approached him sitting down on the bed next to him.

"I don't know," Beast Boy said playfully as he pretended to rub one of his shoulders, "I still feel a little sore."

"Awwww," Sarah said in an equally playful tone, "let me see." She began to rub his shoulders and his back to relieve his make believe strain, but she was pretty good at back rubs. Then she went from messaging his back to gently kissing his neck.

Beast Boy smiled, he liked where this was going.

Beast Boy tilted his face behind him towards Sarah and she placed a gentle loving kiss on his lips. The kiss gradually began to increase in passion and ferocity, and then Beast Boy found himself lying down with Sarah straddling him. Beast Boy kept his hands around Sarah's waist and then slowly moved them lower around her butt, and then slowly beginning to lift her skirt up wards.

"Is this heaven?" He whispered into her ear.

"We're getting there." She whispered back and continued to kiss him.

Just as the lovely couples were beginning to get to the good part, a sudden commotion was heard outside of the closed door and then a loud knocking on it by a certain Cyborg. The knocking was so loud and unexpected that it caused both lovers to jump and Sarah to fall off of Beast Boy.

"Yo! BB! We gotta go, now!" They both heard Cyborg yell with urgency, "We're needed in the city."

Beast Boy slipped into a fresh t-shirt and Sarah fixed her skirt as the two rushed out the door and stood awkwardly before Cyborg. He eyed the two oddly and asked, "Why was Sarah in your room man?"

Beast Boy said nothing as his cheeks turned a bright red and Sarah stuttered out a, "We… we we're… uhh… I was just…" She paused before looking up at Cyborg sheepishly and said, "Please, don't tell Dan."

Cyborg grinned and eyed Beast Boy, who was trying to hide his grin that reached from ear to ear, then looked back at Sarah saying, "I didn't see anything little lady." She smiled gratefully. "You two just get ready, we're needed at a school in the middle of Bogota."

"Why what's wrong Cy?" Beast Boy asked.

Cyborg's grin slipped off his face as he said soberly, "A school is being held hostage and John and Robin think we should contribute our man power. Now hurry up and get dressed already, and I'll make sure Dan stays as far away from here as possible."

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I wont blame you if you don't review this chapter, too short, but don't worry the good stuff will be back in full force next chapter. Next chapter, Titans and Unit Zero have to handle the hostage situation, with a little helping hand from everybody's favorite arms dealer.


	6. Saving The Day

Finished! Did my best so I hope you like it. And to my anonymous friend, I'm not sure yet but I might try to incorporate the General into my next story. Anyway, Enjoy.

* * *

"See ya later babe." Sarah said to Beast Boy affectionately as she kissed him on the lips. It was hardly appropriate due to the fact that they stood outside a police perimeter that surrounded a school that was being held hostage, but what the hell right? The two continued to kiss with gradually increasing passion until Beast Boy was dragged away by the collar by Dan. 

"This aint the time mate," Dan said as he dragged Beast Boy away, "We still got a job to do, and we're needed with the rest of the God damn team." All that Beast Boy could do was wave to Sarah as he was dragged away, or he was flailing his arms as he tried to escape.

Sarah stayed with the AUC tech guys and set up her laptop while everyone else gathered at the command center. The AUC soldiers weren't exactly friendly to the Titans or Unit Zero, probably because they didn't want foreigners telling them what to do. The school itself was a large building that housed a large number of small children and acted as the perfect fortress for the gunmen inside with the buildings thick walls and small windows.

"How many hostages?" John asked in a professional manner. A AUC officer revealed that a few hundred children were inside. John glanced up at the school and then around at the task force of soldiers and heroes assembled to storm the school, it took all of two seconds for John to make his decision.

"Dan," John ordered as he began to remove his sling, "Get me an MP5 and a flak jacket." John flexed his arm and moved it around a bit, it still hurt a little but that didn't matter to him right now, he could take it. He looked back at Dan who had a 'are you kidding me?' look on his face and then repeated, "Now would be preferred Dan."

Dan snapped to attention and said quickly, "Got it boss." And walked back to grab what John needed from the make shift armory the AUC had set up. He came back and handed John what he requested, Beast Boy caught a glimpse of Dan's hand… It was shaking.

"You alright dude?" Beast Boy asked, "Your hand is a little shaky."

Dan looked down and stuffed his hand into his pocket and then snarled out a "Go fuck yourself." That was enough to make Beast Boy stop asking questions, why did his girlfriend's brother have to be such an asshole?

"This is the dumbest idea I've ever heard for the record," Raven said to John, "you're arm isn't fully healed and a moment of hesitation could kill you."

John still flexed his left shoulder and then said, "Good thing I'm right handed, eh gorgeous?" John gave her a wink, and Raven gave him a scowl. Why did her future boyfriend have to be such a gung-ho idiot?

"Sir," a AUC soldier said in Spanish as he approached John, "a civilian handed this over to one of our police officers, he said it was for you."

"Me?" John echoed in Spanish, "He used my name?"

"Yes sir."

John took the small piece of paper out of the soldier's hands and dismissed him. He unfolded the piece of paper and laid it down on top of the table set up in the AUC command center. The piece of paper held a crude drawing that was completely identical to a map of the school, with several X's and triangles and a few small stick figures. And it was signed with an artist signature of an M at the bottom.

"Ummm…" Starfire hesitated to ask, "But what is this?"

"It's the school, an exact drawing of every single room and hallway in the school." John said with a triumphant smile.

"Well we get that man," Cyborg said, "but what the hell do all the little the little scribble mark things mean?"

"Maybe the little stick people are the hostages?" Beast Boy said.

"Well that's fucking great but what the hell is the rest of this stuff?" Dan quipped.

The next few minutes were spent arguing and bickering over what the symbols meant.

* * *

Mason watched down at the school and the command center from a building adjacent to the school. He was sitting down in a folding chair in an unoccupied room to an unoccupied building, he was dressed in his own little disguise too so no one would recognize him. He wore an outfit that a bum would have worn: jeans with holes in the knees, a grey jacket with the hood up and a baseball cap to cover up his face, and a sleeveless t-shirt underneath. This attire was perfect, a far cry from his usual expensive dark suits. 

He had been watching this thing unfold for some time now. Long enough to see Beast Boy and Sarah kiss, ah young love. Mason smiled to himself, he had a feeling that would come in handy in the days to come.

Mason started assembling a Psg 90 sniper rifle with a 10x scope and a flash/sound suppressor while he hummed a gentle tune to himself, one his mother always sang to him when he was young. He finished with assembling with good time and then pointed it out the open window. He aimed it down at the school, then aimed the rifle at the head quarters and couldn't help but smile as he watched the Titans and Unit Zero bicker over the map he sent them. _Turn it over ,_ he thought to himself, _why do my worthy opponents have to be so thick?

* * *

_

"Wait!" John shouted in between possible theories as to what the symbols were, "Turn it over, turn it over!" They flipped the map over and, sure enough, there was a key on the back explaining the symbols. "Stick figures are hostages, triangles are soldiers, and X's are bombs."

"What does the M mean?" Beast Boy asked.

Everybody turned and looked at him with an odd expression. It was Dan that asked, "What?"

"It doesn't say what the M means, it could be us or it could be the guy who sent it… It doesn't say."

"Fuck the M, we know what's inside the building now. I say we go inside and take these mother fuckers out now!"

"Wait!" Robin said this time, "How do we know this is accurate? This could be a trap!"

Sarah ran over to where everybody was standing and said, "Guys, we just made contact with the gunmen. They've made only a few demands."

"What are they?"

"That the 'Capitalist Pig' Columbian government surrender to FARC, and that they appoint 'his Excellency' Ramon Jalisco as the new supreme ruler of Columbia or they kill every single kid in there." She paused before saying, "Hey nice drawing, are those stick figures hostages?"

Everybody's blood ran cold, they knew that the Columbian government would never surrender its power to FARC or to a madman like Ramon. Those kids were as good as dead, and when that happened the people would blame the government rather than FARC because the government refused to negotiate. Everybody looked at one another; they knew what needed to be done. It was a risk but it was one that was worth taking to save a school full of innocent children.

"Alright here's what we're going to do." John said, "Raven you warp us in and drop off one of us at each of these marked spots, everybody should target the gunmen holding the detonator in that area, I know there is one. I want zero collateral damage."

"No guarantees of that happening." Cyborg said as he ran the scenario in his robotic head. "But I can tell that if we don't do something soon they're gonna start killing kids."

There was no other option, they were going in. Raven chanted her mantra and the group was surrounded by a dark aura, the black ball that surrounded them then charged the school at incredible speed, this had to be quick.

* * *

Two gunmen stood next to a C4 bomb that was placed at a crucial point in the buildings structure, all of the bombs were placed at crucial points so as to maximize the damage and the casualty count when they went off. One was holding the detonator to that particular C4, both on the other hand were smiling. 

The plan was going perfectly, just like how Ramon promised. Soon they would execute the little brats, then they would turn themselves in, go to prison, then Ramon would pull his favors and make sure they lived the high life. Who knows? Maybe Ramon would give them all a good place in his new government. They were so busy thinking of the future that they didn't notice black ball that phased through the wall, and the large body builder that crashed into them.

Dan ran his KA-BAR through the first one with the detonator. Taken care of, one more left. Dan raised his M60 and by the time he took down the other one with a quick burst the others had already moved on to at least two more rooms, the Titan's blitzkrieg was working so far. He made his way to the gym where the hostages were being held.

The black ball phased through the gym in the heart of the building and Beast Boy, Robin, and Starfire were dropped off. They immediately charged the unsuspecting gunmen, taking them down quickly before they could even react. One of the gunman pointed his AK-47 at one child but Robin's quick reflexes resulted with a bird-a-rang getting buried in the gunman's arm. He howled out in pain but was soon beaten unconscious by Robin's staff.

The black orb phased through another room and dropped off a very pissed off Cyborg who raised his sonic cannon and shot the detonator man point blank. The other shooters shot Cyborg repeatedly in the back. Cyborg simply turned around and grabbed both by their necks and slammed them against the wall, raising them up gradually off their feat. "You like picking on kids huh?" he asked as he slowly applied pressure to their windpipes and cut off their air supply. Eventually they stopped kicking and finally slipped into unconsciousness.

The black psychic ball finally phased into its last room and dropped off Raven and John. John blasted the first gunman, the one holding the detonator, with a few blasts from his MP5. Raven picked up the other two gunmen and threw them out the windows and sent them crashing into several police cars outside. They turned around and made their way back to gym, that's where they were needed.

Starfire picked up one man sent him hurdeling across a room while Robin and Beast Boy herded the children out of the school. One gunman actually managed to escape from the gym while dragging a kicking and screaming ten year old behind him. He was about to head out the back door when he heard Dan scream, "Freeze asshole!"

The gunman spun around and pressed a knife to the little girl's neck and threatened to kill her if Dan didn't drop the gun. Dan kept the M60 aimed at the gunman's forehead, but he hesitated to pull the trigger: his vision was blurring a little, he swayed a little, and his hands kept shaking. Not now, not now damn it. The gunman kept shouting and pressed the knife closer to the little girl's throat.

"Alright! Alright!" Dan shouted back. He slowly lowered the M60 and laid it down on the ground, "Come on just let the girl go mate, just let her go." The gunman kept the knife against the girl's throat, putting down the gun now seemed like a very bad idea.

* * *

Mason watched the whole thing from his little room in the vacant building. He aimed his sniper rifle down and observed through the windows that Dan was point his M60 at a gunman who had a knife to a girl's throat. The two shouted at each other, then Dan lowered his gun and placed it on the ground. Mason couldn't believe what he was seeing, gung-ho Dan had lowered his weapon? 

Mason looked back down the scope and saw that Dan wasn't going to save that little girl. Mason knew what he had to do, he breathed in and out slowly, then held his breath to steady his aim. Mason kept the gunman in his sights, right on the cross hairs, and then pulled the trigger.

* * *

The window next to the gunman's face exploded as a red bullet hole appeared on the side of his head. The little girl ran out of the hall and out of the school, she was safe now. Dan took several deep breaths, than stared down at his own shaky hands. He breathed in and out one more time before he said into his radio, "Sarah, tell the sniper who killed that guy I'm grateful and I'll buy him a drink." 

"Dan," He heard Sarah's voice in his earpiece, "None of our snipers took a shot."

* * *

Mason smirked, another job well done. He hummed that lullaby to himself again as he took the rifle apart and then packed it all up in a small bag. He slung the bag over his shoulder and then walked away; he had another message to deliver. 

Mason left the building and then approached a man and asked him in Spanish what had just happened. The man looked at him and said excitedly in Spanish, "It's over! The heroes saved all the children and brought the gunmen to justice! It's over!"

Mason smiled and then said in Spanish, "Yeah I found this on the ground, do you think you could hand it over to an AUC soldier? It's very important; I think more kids are in danger." Mason handed him over a small slip of paper as well as a twenty dollar bill as an incentive. The man nodded and walked towards the perimeter and Mason watched as the soldier took the paper, looked at it, and then ran towards the command center. His message hand been delivered.

Mason stuffed a hand in his pocket and felt for the new switchblade he kept in the pocket. Mason then walked away and started heading towards Simon Bolivar Metropolitan Park, there were still a few more bombs left and he wanted to make sure that nothing was going to sneak up on the Titans and Unit Zero when the defused the bombs there. He had about seven minutes until the others caught on to what was happening and raced off to the park.

* * *

"Another job well done right?" John said to Raven, breathing hard from the adrenaline coursing through his veins. Raven didn't even smirk. "What?" he asked as she turned and walked away from him, "Raven if this is about my arm it feels just fine and I'm alright and the kids are alright, what's the problem?" 

Raven didn't answer. John grimaced and was about to go after her when he heard Sarah's voice in his earpiece, "John, this is Sarah, we have an anonymous tip; probably from the same guy who told you guys where all the bombs and bad guys were."

"What now?"

"We think that the school wasn't the only target, according to this FARC is also targeting a park where a fair has set up."

John turned around and looked at the Titans who stood behind him in the doorway of the school. "FARC is targeting a fair in a park." John told them, "Did we get another drawing or what?"

"Yeah, it was a satellite picture this time. It has a hell of a lot more of those triangle things, what do those mean by the way?"

"You still have the picture with you?"

"Yeah, I have the picture with me in the command center."

* * *

It didn't take the Titans and Unit Zero long to figure things out and get to the park, with Dan and John changing back into their street clothes so as not to alert the public and cause a panic. A large fair had been set up, with merry-go-rounds and Ferris wheels and plenty of parents with children too young to go to school or several children who should have been in school but decided to skip so as to enjoy the fair. 

"Spread out. Find the bombs." Robin said. Each Titan, along with Dan and John, had been given a copy of the map they were left (once again by the mysterious M) and were systematically tracking down the bombs.

Raven flew up to the middle of the Ferris wheel and removed the cover on it. Underneath was a C4 explosive powerful enough to unhinge the wheel and kill everyone inside. She used her psychic powers to cut several wires and deactivated the bomb, learning bomb defusal was key to being a Titan, even though Beast boy slept through it when Robin taught them.

Starfire flew quickly from one position to another and picked up as many C4 bombs as she could. She gathered them up and carried them in her arms and flew straight up, tossing them into space. Harmless now.

John found one of the bombs and behind a fast food stand. He quickly began to get to work; nobody noticed him, except for the Columbian man in the nice suit with a silenced pistol hidden under his coat. The FARC hit man had been assigned to keep an eye on the bombs till the last minute, he watched as the heroes went to work with taking care of the bombs without letting the public know. He knew he was no match for heroes, but one unsuspecting young man he could handle.

He smiled as he walked slowly towards John from behind. This was gonna be way too easy. He slipped his right hand slowly into his jacket, fingering the silenced pistol inside. All he had to do was make sure one bomb went off, and to do that he needed John dead. Oh well, too bad kid. His focus was solely on John now, everything else around him became almost unnoticeable, including the shabbily dressed white boy who was approaching him.

Mason had seen the hit man, and he walked right past John without his nemesis even noticing. Then Mason and the hit man bumped into each other in a seemingly harmless manner. But if one had been closer they would have heard Mason rasp out, "No children. ever."

Mason quickly walked away from the bump unphased, the hit man just stood there as blood began to seep out of his mouth and the wound where a switchblade stuck out. He stood there like that for a bit, and then collapsed to the ground while at the same time drawing his silenced pistol; he never had the chance to fire it. Now, the Titans and Unit Zero had been very good at keeping the bomb defusal process secretive so as to avoid a panic, but a dead body in the middle of the fair with a knife in his middle tends to start a panic and this case was no different.

John cut the final wire to deactivate the bomb than he spun on his heel with his Five Seven pistol drawn. All he saw was the body on the ground and people running and screaming at the sight of the body. But then he caught a glimpse of something, a pale face in the sea of people, that brief glimpse seemed to last forever. He knew who it was almost immediately, it was Mason Thorn. John would have pursued him but something stopped John dead in his tracks, the tips they had been given were all signed M, M for Mason. And the dead body had Mason's knife in it, why had he saved him and all these children for that matter?

John's slight hesitation was enough for Mason to disappear into the crowd of panicking faces and escape. John cursed under his breath and tried to follow him but he knew it was too late, Mason was long gone.

"John. John." He heard Sarah's voice in his earpiece, "What's happening? What's going on?"

"I don't know." John said honestly. "But I need a drink."

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There. Review soon please. Next chapter, Mason heads back to his hideout and thinks back on his past somemore while simaltaneously plotting the assassination. 


	7. Monster or Hero?

Here we are, Chapter Seven. Sorry it took so long, the document uploader was acting up on my computer. Anyway, here's a little more on Mason's back story if you like his character, which I'm hoping a few of you do. My plans would be ruined if you didn't like Mason after all. Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

Mason walked down the city streets with his bag slung over his shoulder and onto his back, no one notice that a sniper rifle lay inside. He walked back and thought back on the events that had just transpired and the effects they would bring. Mason never did anything without thinking it through thoroughly and planning it to every last move. So far he could see no out come that could harm him: Ramon would blame one of his own men and not his trusted arms dealer, and the public was none the wiser; except for John but he doubted anyone would believe his story. 

He laughed in his throat at the thought, he could almost see the news headlines: 'Arms Dealer Saves Children' or 'Mason Thorn: Sinner or Saint?' He knew such things were ridiculous and no one would ever consider Mason as anything remotely close to heroic and Mason didn't want to be seen as a hero. He wasn't, he was the farthest thing from a hero, he was a vengefull monster. But he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like if people did see him as a hero… A curious scenario, indeed.

Mason the hero, Mason the do-gooder. He could almost picture screaming crowds of fans shouting his name and holding up signs that would read: 'I'm your #1fan!' He could imagine holidays in his honor, shaking hands with important people, being loved by the masses. It was an intoxicating dream, but a dream sadly none the less. He knew it wasn't real and that it never could be real so it was best that he stopped thinking about it all together.

But why did he save those children? What drove him to do something righteous in his otherwise sinister lifestyle? It wasn't the first time either, he had had his moments before. Moments of righteousness, moments that were almost heroic. They were few and far between but they weren't non-existent. He thought back into his past, dipping deep into time's chaotic waters once more, as he thought back on his past endeavors. He assumed that the first righteous thing in his life was what he did to Walter. It was gruesome and purely fueled on vengeance, but he deserved it and in Mason's book that is righteous.

He thought back and remembered his mother, Mary… _Mary…

* * *

_

_It had been a year since young and innocent Vincent was committed to the earth, dispatched by his own father's hand. One year, Walter only got to live a year longer thanks to the wife he constantly mistreated. The only reason Mason held back his plots for vengeance because he knew his mother would disapproved, he knew that she would be disappointed because she forbade acts of vengeance. So he let Walter live a little bit longer, just one year longer._

_He remembered his last night with his mother. Mason sat on his comfy bed in his large silent room, he was alone with his thoughts until his mother entered the room. She was wearing a bath robe, she was about to take a bath, and said in her musical sing song voice, "Sweetie? What's wrong?"_

_Thirteen year-old Mason gritted his teeth, he hesitated to say what was eating him up inside. His mother sat down next to him and gently ran her fingers through his hair in a soothing manner and asked him again what was troubling his young mind. Mason hesitated and then finally whispered to her, "I… I want to hurt Walter… Kill him, for what he did… What he did to Vincent."_

"_You can't." was all she said._

"_Why not?" Mason snapped, "Vincent didn't deserve to die, he didn't deserve to feel any pain or fear. Walter does, he murdered my little brother!"_

"_You can't," His mother repeated, "because if you do Mason, you will have sacrificed everything that makes you human; everything that makes you who you are. Vengeance won't bring your brother back…"_

"_No," Mason agreed, "But after everything he's done, and if it makes me feel better…"_

"_Stop it Mason!" She ordered, "Perhaps, when you are older, you will understand what I say when I tell you that vengeance will not make things right. Yes it may remove evil from the world you have built around yourself Mason, but it'll poison you. It'll turn you into the very thing you sought out to destroy. Vengeance will not make your life easier Mason, it will make you into a monster."_

_Mason slowly nodded his head, defeated. She kissed him on the forehead and bade him good night, then left for the bathroom to take her bath. It was the last time Mason ever saw her. While Mason slept, his mother drowned to death in the bathtub. An autopsy would say it was accidental, that she fell asleep while in the tub; of course they were being paid to ignore the sleep inducing drugs in her system. As Mason watched her too be delivered into her grave, he decided that he didn't care anymore. The one person who was keeping Walter Thorn alive was now dead. Walter was fair game._

_Mason's plan unfolded quite quickly and easily. Apparently Walter had developed quite a bit of a gambling habit and owed a lot of money to the local mob that he kept forgetting to pay. Mason approached the gangsters with a simple offer, they abduct Walter for him, Mason removes Walter, the gangsters take the heat for the murder, then Mason pays them with insurance and inheritance money. Simple plan, and effective._

_And so Mason stood in a dark empty warehouse with two gangsters standing next to the door to make sure that Mason didn't go soft at the last minute, and in the center of the room, tied securely to a heavy chair, was Walter Thorn. He was a thin and lanky man with a bald spot growing in his black tuft of thinning hair. He slowly woke up from the sleep the gangsters had put him under and looked around with a mixture of fear and confusion._

"_My mother once said that the Earth is a canvas," Mason said, "it is a place for us to make our own world where we are the ones who are in control and who rule over that world with absolute power. You, Walter, are a perfect example of that."_

_Walter looked into the eyes of is son, all he saw was cold icy indifference that carefully masked a swirling torrent of burning hate. He was beginning to get frightened as Mason continued, "Look at you Walter. You are God in the world you created for yourself. You own a large company so you can buy just about anything, you have a wife who wont stand up to you so you can do whatever you want to her, and two small children to help make you look like the perfect father while you maintain your god-like position by exercising your power onto them by beating them senseless."_

"_Mason?" Walter was confused and frightened, "Why am I tied to this chair? Mason? Answer me Mason."_

_Mason ignored Walter as he approached a small table that was located near the chair; it was covered with a thin black sheet. Mason dramatically removed the sheet and allowed Walter to take a look at what lied on the table: a row of knives and hammers and finally a 1911 Colt. Walter's eyes went wide with fear and his mouth hung open._

"_Now it's time for me to make my world," Mason said as he held up several other items: a lighter, a drill, and a gallon of gas that lay next to the table. "Baptism by fire, seems an appropriate title for the creation of my world. My world. I like the sound of that. My world, and you're just living in it Walter, for now."_

"_Mason, please…" Walter pleaded. He was terrified now, he knew what was coming._

"_You're begging?" Mason asked in mock disbelief, "Tell me Walter, did Vincent beg and plead for his life like you are now when you smashed his skull in?"_

"_I didn't mean to… It was an accident, I got carried away…" Pathetic._

"_Did he Walter?" Mason continued, "I knew my mother did whenever you would throw her onto your bed and rape her." Mason's previously emotionless mask cracked for a moment as he showed a brief glimpse of his hate._

"_Mason… Please…"_

"_Confess to what you've done Walter," Mason said as he picked up another tool off the table, a wire cutter. "Take responsibility; confess to what you've done to Vincent and Mary Thorn."_

"_Yes… I did it…" Walter hissed out, "I killed them, but you have to understand Mason… I didn't kill you because I knew you were strong I knew that you were worthy of continuing my legacy, continuing what I've built. You were strong Mason, that's why you survived."_

_Mason nodded in false understanding. "What you reap is what you sow," was all Mason said, "Then it's about time you reaped the rewards of your crimes Walter. It's about time you got a glimpse at what you 'built', because after tonight it comes crumbling down and I build something of myself on my own, to make sure that there is no trace left of you in me, I am my own man after tonight. Because you won't be there to influence this new world of mine." He approached Walter and slipped one of his fingers in between the blades._

"_Wait! Wait!" Walter pleaded, "I confessed, aren't you happy with that?!"  
_

"_Don't worry Walter," Mason said coolly, "I will be soon enough." Mason went to work. He used every tool he had to the best of his ability, when Mason was finished he almost didn't recognize Walter. Now the two truly were different. Mason breathed in and out and decided it was time to finish things off. Mason picked up the gas can and dumped it all over Walter, baptism by fire indeed. Mason lit up a lighter than mercilessly dropped it on top of the gas soaked body of Walter Thorn._

_He caught on fire immediately, and while Walter burned, Mason picked up the 1911 Colt and pulled back the slide saying, "Better get used to the temperature where you're going Walter!" Mason then pointed the gun at Walter and emptied the whole clip into him. The Job was done, Walter was dead. Justice at its most gruesome._

_After that day Mason stuck around Jump City a little longer to make sure everything went according to his plan. After he thought he waited long enough he paid off the debts of Walter and then he visited Vincent's and Mary's grave one last time. Lesser men would have committed suicide, but not Mason; suicide was the coward's way out to him. Instead Mason packed up the last of the money he had to his name along with some food, some clothes, and a gun Walter kept around the house and then left the city. He paid a coyote to smuggle him out of the country and into Mexico._

_Mason spent the next few months, if not a year wandering. In his wandering he learned that he had a unique talent for selling things, whenever he picked something up while on the road he could always sell it for twice if not three times its original value. Mason hung around gun fights and drug busts gone wrong, he became accustomed to death's presence and would wait until the dust had settled so he could pick up the drugs and weapons and then sell it for himself. He only spent the money he earned on what he needed to survive out on the rode. By the time he made it to Columbia he tried selling a few pistols to a FARC general when he was captured by FARC, it was a setup. The purpose was to bring him before FARC's only arms dealer and execute him in front of him._

_That's when Mason met Nikolai. Nikolai was a tall and muscular KGB defector turned CIA employed arms dealer who was well into his late twenties. He was experienced in the business of gun running and was nicknamed as "Russia's Charity" due to the fact that he was always generous to everyone. He looked down at a broken and beaten Mason, someone who had traveled across Central America to find a place for himself in the world, and he showed mercy. He took Mason in, took care of him, and eventually taught Mason the business. He saw Mason's natural talent and taught him the ropes of being an arms dealer and introduced him to his many clients and contacts._

_Nikolai had always been kind to Mason and never tried to be like a father figure to Mason, but much rather acted like best friend to Mason. One of the few Mason ever had. And Mason did enjoy his company, it was one of the few times Mason would actually have fun. The two were close and inseparable, helping each other when they needed to be helped. When Mason needed some extra cash Nikolai would spot him some, and whenever Nikolai needed some competition or an untrustworthy client rubbed out he would ask Mason to handle it._

_This is also where Mason contributed some pseudo-heroic deeds. Whenever he asked for money it would be for a good cause, like to help a innocent person whose loved ones were victims of kidnapping and they couldn't afford the ransom. And whenever Mason volunteered for an operation such as a bank robbery or a contract killing, Mason would always make sure that the target truly deserved his losses. Be it money or his own life. Mason always targeted criminals, something about killing a fellow criminal that just made Mason feel bullet proof. He wasn't sure if that counted as heroic, but it did in Mason's book. He would shrug his shoulders and think 'fuck 'em they had it coming when they got in the business anyway'._

"_Don't ever sell your soul to these bastards." Nikolai always said to Mason, it was a lesson Mason had taken to heart the moment he first heard it. That was something else the two shared, there were certain businesses that Nikolai refused to work with, because their businesses he found to be morally object able. Sometimes Nikolai did do business with them but only as a method of undermining their businesses. Mason took note of this, but he kept it well hidden he wanted people to think he was different than Nikolai when Mason would inevitably inherit the business._

_An arms dealer is cursed with a short life span, whether he is killed by an agent or a criminal he works with, the moment you become an arms dealer Mason knew your days were numbered. He knew that Nikolai was inevitably going to die, but he didn't think it would come so soon._

_When Mason was eighteen, five years after he freed himself from his old life, Nikolai was found dead in Prague. No one knew who did it. That day, Mason moved up in the world from an anonymous kid on the side who helped Nikolai out on deals and would assassinate anyone who got in his way, to a full blown arms dealer with an organization at his command._

_Mason never liked the idea of getting things through inheritance, he preferred to earn what he gained which is why he never asked a penny from Nikolai unless he absolutely needed to. So Mason took what he had gained from Nikolai, and expanded the organization to include more than just guns. Drugs, hitmen, and various other nefarious items were added onto his list of exports. Mason spent the next three years as 'The Salesmen'.

* * *

_

Mason pulled himself from his memories as he entered his hideout once more, and some less than heroic thoughts began to churn in his head. He remembered what he saw when he was looking down on the AUC mobile HQ outside the school: he saw the green Titan, Beast Boy, and the female member of Unit Zero, Sarah, kissing. He smiled as he realized that he just found his way around those accursed heroes. It was a nasty business, attacking ones enemies through their heart, but in this case it was necessary. Mason now knew what he needed to do, and it revolved around Beast Boy and Sarah.

He laughed in his throat, why didn't he think of this earlier? "Young love indeed." He said to himself, "I believe I should 'meet' these two."

* * *

Review, ye sinners! Let me know on how you think Mason is developing as a character. And I hope you're still reading LordHalo, I'm missing your reviews. Next Chapter, the Titans celebrate over a round of drinks. See ya soon, Pals. 


	8. Love and Whiskey

Here you are loyal readers, Chapter 8. The Titans celebrate their victory and here's a little spoiler, BB gets hammered. Enjoy.

* * *

She stood on the roof, her blue cloak flapping the warm Columbian breeze. She didn't turn to face him when John approached her from behind; he knew she was still angry with him. He stood there for a moment, not wanting to approach her yet, and simply stood there and couldn't help but admire her from behind. The flapping of her cloak would give him an occasional glimpse of her back and her legs and everything in between, and of course there was her beautiful short hair that moved each change in the breeze.

John composed himself and rubbed his shoulder a little to get rid of a little pain. When he felt he was finally ready he said, "Are you alright Raven?" When she didn't react he walked up closer behind her until he was literally breathing down her neck. "I know why you're angry Raven, and I'm sorry… I truly am."

"John," Raven said quietly, "You could have been killed today, you're not ready to go back and fight again with that shoulder. I can feel it."

"Raven…"

"Just listen…" Raven said as she turned around and raised her voice, "I'm a hero John, I can do things others can't and I can take more damage than other people. You're a normal person John. Despite all the training you've had you are still as mortal and as fragile as every other human being."

"I've been through worse before Raven and I've still gone back to going on missions." John said in an attempt to defend himself.

"The last time you faced Mason you were beaten to a pulp! You almost died for God's sake John!" Raven shouted in an attempt to have her words take effect into John's seemingly thick skull. "And you've had what? A few days to recover and you are back on your feet and rushing head first into the first crisis you think needs your help."

"There were children in that school Raven!" John shouted back, "What was I supposed to do? Sit on my hands and hope for the best when I can just go in there with the rest of you and do something myself?"

"You could have been killed!" Raven yelled.

"Better me than those kids!" John shot back, he would have kept going but he froze when he saw Raven's face. She was shocked.

"Listen to yourself John," She whispered gently, "you may think that the lives of those children matter more than yours but think about the people who care about you John." Raven hesitated before continuing, "John, you are a good person, and I don't want to see you get killed for being a good person, for trying to help people."

John stood there, silent. She cared, and all it took was a near death experience and a hostage crisis. He knew she cared, she would never admit it but she did, and it made things clearer for John: This whole time he was thinking about helping others and not about what might happen to him and how his loved ones would feel about it. It was an unfamiliar way of thinking but he knew he'd get used to it.

"Whenever I went out to fight or operate" John said quietly, "I never had to worry about people who cared about me or how they would react if I was ever hurt. In the team, if one of us died, we accepted the danger as a fact of life. We never worried about each other." He looked into Raven's eyes, those deep entrancing lilac pools of hers, and said, "I'm sorry Raven, I'm not used to this: To people actually worrying about me on missions."

Raven reached up and placed one gentle hand on John's troubled cheek, he put his hand over hers and smiled gently at her touch. "If I worry you that much Raven than I give you this solemn promise. I will avoid danger until I am fully recovered."

She smiled a tiny, almost unnoticeable, smile as he wrapped his fingers around Raven's as they lay on his cheek. He brought them to his lips and gently kissed them while he never broke contact with her eyes. She pressed herself closer to him and he wrapped his arms around her, he held her so tight he could feel every curve of her body. "If that's what it takes, I'll stay out of things for now Raven. I will. I promise."

She looked up into his eyes and he looked down and the two leaned forward. His lips hovering over hers, he was so close he could smell her light and almost undetectable perfume. They leaned closer and then kissed passionately. They maintained that one kiss for a few seconds before John leaned into Raven's ear and whispered that one thing all couples say,

"I love you."

While John and Raven conversed on the roof, everyone else rejoiced their heroic victory back in the safe house at the large in house bar. It had a bar in one end of the large room, a pool table in the center, a TV hanging in the corner of the room, and several chairs and couches scattered all about. Robin and Cyborg were currently playing a game of pool with Starfire cheering her boyfriend on, Dan sat alone at the bar drinking a beer, and even Juan was present as he sat in one of the couches; he was finally enjoying himself for once. Too bad he didn't know he was being used as bate to catch Mason.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Sarah asked as she and Beast Boy stood in the entrance to the room.

"Well I gotta make him like me, and if this is the way than so be it." Beast Boy replied as he stared over at Dan.

"Good luck," Sarah said as she kissed him on the cheek. "I gotta go check on the security systems, I'll be back very soon." She turned and left. Beast Boy took a deep breath, walked over to where Dan sat, and sat down next to him.

"The fuck do you want?" Dan snarled. Jeez, way to bite the poor kid's head off.

"You know," Beast Boy said, "Just to talk dude. I mean I am dating someone you see as your little sister so I figure it's time to get to know the big brother." He smiled uneasily in an attempt to get Dan to like him.

Dan just snorted and then said, "This is a bar Beast _Boy_, so if you're not drinking than shut up and leave me be." That gave Beast Boy an idea.

Beast Boy picked up one of the unopened beer bottles from behind the bar, it was all free anyway, and opened it. Dan suppressed his laughter, he didn't expect Beast Boy to get very far. Then, to his surprise, Beast Boy put the bottle to his lips and slowly tilted his head back, chugging down the whole bottle. A smile slowly began to creep across Dan's bemused face, first it was a smile to show how impressed he was, and then it turned into a smile of pride. Beast Boy tilted his head all the way back and emptied the whole bottle, then slammed it down onto the table while he coughed a little.

"I'll be damned," Dan said with a remaining mix pride and surprise, "Beast Boy can knock 'em back." He laughed a little and patted Beast Boy on the back hard to help him with the coughing. He reaching behind the bar and grabbed something else, a bottle and two shot glasses. "Now let's see if you can handle a man's drink."

He poured both shot glasses full with whiskey and he picked it up and raised it to Beast Boy, Beast Boy did the same.

"Bottom's up." Was all Dan said as he knocked it back and then slammed the glass back down onto the table with a slight grimace on his face. Beast Boy hesitated, then swallowed loudly before thinking 'what the hell?' then drank it. He almost coughed it up. It tasted awful, and burned all the way down.

"Yeah, takes a bit of getting used to." Dan said as Beast Boy kept coughing. He felt bad for the kid and gave him a little bit of advice, "Alright next shot we drink at the same time on the count of three, except drink it quickly and don't let it touch your throat okay?" Beast Boy nodded as he got control of his coughing.

"Alright," Dan continued as he poured them another round, "One… Two… Three!" The both knocked the shot glasses back and grimaced at the foul tasting liquid. But neither was coughing badly, "You man enough for another round?" Dan taunted.

"Bring it dude." Beast Boy shot back.

Dan laughed out a, "That's my boy!" and poured them another round, maybe this kid wasn't so bad after all.

Robin opened up a root beer, he didn't drink and was actually surprised to see Beast Boy over there drinking with Dan. He was even more surprised to see Dan actually warming up to Beast Boy. He drank it then took another shot at the pool table and knocked in the eight ball.

"Boo Yeah!" Cyborg shouted in triumph, "That's my game."

"Another round," Robin said as he laid down a twenty dollar bill, "winner takes all."

John and Raven walked into the room to see everybody having fun, then John spotted Beast Boy and Dan, getting along for once. Then he noticed the drinks. "Somebody explain what _that_ is over there."

"Yeah those two have been going at it for a while," Robin said as he lined up a shot and took it, knocking in a solid ball. "I lost count of how many shots they've taken."

"Does BB drink whiskey a lot?" John asked Raven who shook her head, "For the love of God…"

"Why are you such an ass to me man?" Beast Boy after another shot, "I mean, I've tried everything I can to impress you and show you I'm an alright guy… But you just keep treating me like crap. What's with that man?!"

Beast Boy and Dan had been drinking together for quite sometime now and it was obvious to everybody that Beast Boy was tipsy and Dan himself was well on his way too.

"Look, its nothing personal mate." Dan explained while he teetered in his bar stool, "It's just, I stood and I raised her with John when we were all in the project. I've watched her grow up before my very eyes. I care about that little girl, I don't want to see anyone break her heart, or just get with her just to get in her panties."

"Well I understand that. But there's a line between protective and douche bag and you flirt with it dude." Beast Boy replied after another shot, and followed it up with drunken giggling after he almost fell out of his own seat."

"I'm getting to that…" Dan said as he took down another shot. "You wanna know what keeps people like you and me honest? Hmmm? Fear, that's what keeps people from fucking up. So I figure that if I scare the crap out of you enough times than you will be less likely to fuck up with Sarah. You get what I'm saying mate?"

"No." Beast Boy said with a drunken smile, he was pretty much plastered now. "Actually, I think you're drunk from the way you're talking."

"Ha!" Dan laughed out, "The day you drink me under the table is when Christ returns and trumpets sound. Now shut up and have another drink with me."

The Titans and Unit Zero enjoyed the rest of the night as much as they could. Robin lost to Cybrog, again, and Raven eventually accepted to play a game against Starfire. John and Robin sat down with Juan and handed him a drink to try and lighten him up, a little beer in him and he loosened up real good. While Robin reassured Juan, John watched Raven play pool and couldn't help but stare a little whenever she would bend over to hit a ball.

_Show me the way to go home_

_Bum bum bum_

_I'm tired and I wanna go to bed_

_I had a little drink about an hour ago_

_And it went right to my head!_

Dan and Beast Boy, after many more shots, were now both completely drunk and signing together. Sarah just happened to walk into the room right about this time. Her face immediately became worried when she saw that Beast Boy had been drinking with Dan. He was a bad influence after all.

"Beast Boy?" Sarah asked as she walked up behind him.

Beast Boy turned and looked Sarah in the eyes with his own half-closed ones. "Hey babe!" he slurred out, "Your 'brother' treated me to a few drinks. Do you like this song? Do you remember how the rest of it goes, that's all I remember from _JAWS_."

"Did you get him drunk?!" She shouted at an equally smashed Dan.

"Whoa whoa," he slurred out as he raised his hands up to defend himself, "I didn't force him to drink Sarah he had the big idea that he could impress me by drinking like me. And I gotta tell ya I think his idea worked. Damn this boy can drink, and to think I was expecting a lightweight!"

"Apology accepted." Beast Boy replied as he swayed in his seat.

"Come on BB you're drunk." Sarah said as she helped him out of his seat. He almost fell when he got out and she had to become his human crutch. She shot a look back at Dan.

"What did I do?!" he asked. All she did was roll her eyes at him and helped Beast Boy to his room. He had had enough.

"Alright," John said, "funs over. Cy help this drunken bastard to his room."

Cyborg approached Dan to help him but Dan pulled his shoulder away from the robotic teenager and stood on his own stating, "I am fine! I can go back to my room and vomit on my own without any help from you all. I maybe a drunk but I will maintain my dignity and will walk myself to my own room thank you very much sir!"

Dan stood and first step he collapsed onto the floor.

"Christ." John moaned in an unhappy manner, "Cy, grab his feet."

Sarah helped Beast Boy into his room all the while with him whispering drunken sweet nothings into his lover's ear.

"You know what Sarah?" Beast Boy said, "I think you're sexy." She rolled her eyes and told him he was just drunk but he kept going. "No really. You could be in magazines you know that? Once you're done with this whole spy business you should become a model or something like that."

He wheezed out a laugh and then started to nuzzle Sarah's neck, then lightly begin to kiss her neck and chin.

"Beast Boy stop it," Sarah said, "you're drunk."

"Don't worry sexy," Beast Boy slurred, "I don't think you'll take advantage of me or anything." He kissed her on the lips and she could almost taste the alcohol. She was about to force him off of her when he pulled away and he suddenly said, "Bathroom."

"What?"

"Bathroom. Bathroom! _Bathroom!_" He immediately rushed himself to his room's bathroom, after bumping into the dresser and a wall, and then threw up into the toilet. Sarah narrowed her eyes while Beast Boy continued to vomit up the whiskey. She was going to kill Dan for this.

* * *

Do my friends like? Review soon please! Next chapter, BB deals with a hangover but still finds time in his busy schedule of headaches to go out into the city with Sarah, where a certain arms dealer plots his next sinister move. 


	9. The Morning After

Here's the next chapter, sorry it took so long. Just so you know there will be another planned sequel, the tenative title is 'Russian Roulette' due to the fact that I'll have it take place in Russia. Tell me what you think. Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

Beast Boy woke up the next day feeling like his head was about to implode. He pressed his eyes together and drew the covers over his head to block out the sun that flooded into his room, he didn't know how long he'd been asleep but he'd rather stay asleep with the headache he was having. 

He eventually rolled out of bed and changed into some fresh clothes then walked out into the safe house's kitchen. Everyone was gathered around the table and talking to Blake, they were trying to convince him to do something, but Beast Boy couldn't hear what that was until he got closer.

"He's targeted children Blake," John said, "this guy's gone too far. I say we get involved now and hunt him down." John sat at the table with his arm back in the sling, it had only been out of the sling for a few hours and now John was feeling the piercing pain in his arm again. That and he had made a promise to Raven, a promise he was going to keep.

"Then send him six feet south." Dan chimed in. Dan wasn't looking too good, he looked pretty tired and he had a glass of ice water pressed against his head. He glanced over to Beast Boy and nodded his head in recognition. Hell of a lot better than a scowl.

"We don't know where Ramon Jalisco is." Blake pointed out, "He always sleeps in FARC compounds and we can't find out where those are because he's always moving around."

"Sorry to interrupt," Beast Boy said as he walked in, "but have you guys seen Sarah?"

"She's in her room." Dan said. Beast Boy was about to walk away when he also said, "Hey kid!" Beast Boy looked at Dan just in time to catch a small white plastic bottle of Aspirin. Beast Boy would have said thanks but Dan went back to talking with the others immediately. At least they were making progress.

Beast Boy walked down the hallway and stopped in front of the door to Sarah's room. Beast Boy popped a few Aspirin and took a deep breath, he didn't remember that much about the night before except that he got drunk and Sarah took him back to his room, the rest was a blur. He took another breath before noticing that the door was slightly open, so he decided to peak through the little crack between the wall and the door.

Sarah was inside, Beast Boy could see her with thanks to an angled mirror, she was in the bathroom drying herself off from a shower. Beast Boy's jaw dropped as he saw Sarah dry off her lithe naked form while trying to wrap the towel around herself, allowing Beast Boy to catch tantalizing glimpses of his lover's form.

Beast Boy pulled himself away and turned around to make sure Dan hadn't somehow materialized behind him, suddenly Beast Boy's headache seemed insignificant compared to the burning sensation in his cheeks. He couldn't bring himself to look back again, he wasn't some peeping tom or anything. All the while keeping his back to the door he knocked on the wall next to the door.

"Just a sec." He heard her say. It didn't take long for her to get dressed and open the door.

"Good morning babe." Beast Boy said with a smile on his face despite the bombs going off in his head. The two hugged and Sarah kissed Beast Boy on the lips. Good to know she wasn't mad at him.

"Good morning BB." She said after the kiss, "Are you blushing?"

Beast Boy ignored the question and skipped straight to filling in the gaps of his memory of last night. "I didn't do anything embarrassing last night did I?"

"Well, you did sing that song from JAWS with Dan."

"I always did like that song."

"And you said I was sexy and tried to make out with me."

"Tried?"

"Yeah, you got to my lips than you ran off to the bathroom to vomit."

Beast Boy's face turned an even deeper shade of crimson, he hoped like hell that she didn't take that the wrong way. She laughed and reassured him it was alright. "Your head isn't hurting too bad is it?"

"Naw. Dan gave me some Aspirin."

"Good to know he's finally warming up to you." Sarah said, "Besides I was wondering if you would let me show you around the city, it's a great place and I think you'd love it."

"Sure."

They walked out through the living room on their way out and Sarah slapped Dan on the back of his head, causing his headache to worsen.

"What'd you do that for?"

"For being a bad influence." Sarah replied.

Dan tried to defend himself but Sarah and Beast Boy left before he could say a word. He watched them go out the door and did nothing to stop them, for some reason he felt like he didn't mind the kid as much anymore. He wasn't sure if it was because they got drunk last night together or maybe Dan was still a little drunk. Oh well, it didn't matter, he'd still give him some shit when he got back. He'd just be a little softer on him.

Traffic was surprisingly good in Bogotá at that time of the day, but Sarah and Beast Boy had decided to walk instead of drive, stating that they would get a chance to see more if they just walked. They would stop by the local shops and food places when they would get hungry, Sarah would order something with lots of meat and Beast Boy would almost always have to settle with eating soft taco shells and lettuce. They would laugh and talk and make jokes and overall enjoyed their time together. They had no idea that they were being watched…

* * *

Mason watched from the roof top of an adjacent building, what a lovely couple. Almost a shame, what he was going to have to do to them. But he shrugged that off; they were just part of the plan, an essential part of the plan. He took out a cell phone he had in his pocket and dialed Ramon's number; he was surprised to hear Alejandro's voice instead. 

"Yes?" Mason could hear shouting in the background.

"Alex, what are you doing answering Ramon's phone?" Mason asked, he then heard gun shots go off in the background. "Please explain what is going on."

Alejandro waited until the gunshots had finally finished before replying, "Ramon's not that happy, what with the failure of his hostage plan and all, so he's been executing anyone who he thinks could have betrayed him. He always has me handle his phone while he's 'working'."

"So this is what you've been reduced to: Ramon's private secretary?"

"Fuck you."

"No I'm serious Alex," Mason continued, "look at you. You're the second in command of FARC and responsible for almost all of its income and you're answering phones for this guy. Call me crazy but I think Ramon is crossing the line in more ways than one."

"You mean the who 'child' business?"

"I mean all of it." Mason paused before saying, "Forget it, just tell Ramon I'm going to have something that will cheer him up… Tell him it's a 'sacrificial lamb', he'll know what your talking about."

Mason hung up the phone then made his way down the fire escape and into the alley where a black van was waiting along with several men, his men. It took them a while to show up but Mason had a few of his own people to help him out with what he was going to do next.

"Everybody ready?" Mason asked as they all dawned ski masks. "Give the runner his signal."

One man spoke into a cell phone and then they all piled into the black van. Mason's plan was being put into motion.

* * *

"Be right back," Beast Boy said, "I gotta use the bathroom." 

He kissed her and walked further inside of the restaurant they were enjoying and headed to what he hoped was the bathroom while Sarah waited outside on the sidewalk, taking in the fresh Columbian air. She never noticed the man in the expensive suit walking towards her.

Her back was to him and it was perfect for the mercenary as he produced a syringe and pushed it into her neck with sudden and expert force while his other arm wrapped around her waist so to keep her from running away. She struggled at first, kicking and screaming for help, but her fighting quickly weakened and she slipped into unconsciousness as the syringe's plunger was pushed down farther. A black van drove up next to them and the rear door opened as Sarah was forced in and the mercenary hopped in to.

"Sarah!" Beast Boy shouted. He had heard her screams and had come running to aid her, but too late. As he ran a man in a dark suit lobbed out a grenade and the van drove off. Beast Boy immediately jumped into hero mode and knew he couldn't kick the grenade away so he immediately shouted at the crowd to get back and get down. The grenade went off.

Nothing. Just gas, it was a smoke grenade.

Beast Boy swore under his breath and ran off in the direction that the van was headed and scoured the crowded city horizon to find the truck. So far, nothing. He changed into a cheetah and ran down the city streets in hopes of catching it but he wasn't even sure if he was headed in the right direction any more. He changed into an eagle and flew up in to the air and searched from the sky, he couldn't see them anymore. They had escaped, and worse yet they had Sarah.

Beast Boy descended to a near by roof top and changed back into his human form. He began to feel panic make its familiar rise upwards. Was she going to be alright? Did they want to kill her? What did they want? And who were they? Just as he was about to call the other Titans for help he felt his communicator go off.

Beast Boy opened up his communicator and stared down into the screen, he almost jumped when he saw the cold pale face of Mason Thorn. Mason's background was dark and Beast Boy couldn't tell where he was, but he had a feeling that Mason was sitting in a car. Was he the rat bastard who had just kidnapped Sarah?

"Good afternoon Mr. Beast Boy," Mason said with confidence oozing out from his voice, "I hope you weren't enjoying your walk with Sarah. I'd hate to interrupt anything important between you two." Mason even added an arrogant smile to piss off Beast Boy even more, it worked.

"You son of a bitch," Beast Boy hissed, "you hurt her and I swear to God I'm going to…"

"Relax," Mason ordered, "just do what I say and no one gets hurt today."

"And if I don't do what you say you'll hurt Sarah, right?" Beast Boy said as he tried to get control of his boiling anger within. He never could understand how Raven did it.

"Precisely." Mason said, "Now here's what I need you to do: There's a parking complex on the western side of the city." Mason gave him more exact directions. "Be at this address in half an hour, come alone and with just what you have on you right now, no weapons. Do this or the next time you see Sweet Sarah will be in a dumpster… I don't think you'd want me to go into details."

"You bastard, if you so much as lay a finger on her I will hunt you down and I will FUCKING MURDER YOU!" Beast Boy shouted.

"Just do what I say. How I say it. And, like I said, no one has to get hurt." Mason reassured. "Everybody can still win something by the end of the day, but that is only if you play by the rules, okay?"

"Alright." Beast Boy knew this was a bad idea, but he had no other choice. Mason hung up and Beast Boy put away his communicator. Thirty minutes is all he had, he had better hurry up if he had to cross the entire city.

* * *

Mason pressed a key on his laptop in the van and exhaled a breath, God he hated this part of the plan. But the profit in the plan would out weigh the loss, in more ways than one too. He looked back at his men were huddled around the unconscious Sarah. 

"If any of you touch her in a way a woman wouldn't like to be touched," Mason said, "I'll personally cut off the offending appendage."

The mercenaries nodded in agreement. He was paying them well enough that they had better agree to whatever he said anyway. But that didn't matter, the board was set and the game was on. Mason planed on it being a very short game.

* * *

Wondering what Mason's up to? Keep reading and you'll find out. Next chapter, Beast Boy tries to cut a deal with Mason. 


	10. I Want You

A short chapter for my pals. I'm planning to have some villains show up in the next sequel, tell me which you would like to see in the next Titans Zero. Well, enjoy.

* * *

Beast Boy made his way up to the fifth level of the parking complex he was told to go to. He had crossed the city in about half an hour, he had been planning the worst way to hurt Mason the whole way. If he so much as plucked a single hair from her head, Beast Boy was going to rip him to pieces. Beast Boy did his best to bury the hatred as he arrived on the fifth level and immediately saw the familiar black van parked on the south side. Mason stood with another mercenary at his side, he was waiting for him.

"Twenty-nine minutes and thirty-six seconds," Mason said after glancing at his watch, "I was correct about your speed I guess." Mason smiled the cold familiar smile of arrogance that Beast Boy had come to recognize from the man, he saw it on him every time the two met. He never guessed that it was a carefully crafted mask.

"Where is she?" Beast Boy sneered.

"Punctual as ever." Mason laughed, "Good, saves the two of us time."

"WHERE IS SHE?!" Beast Boy shouted, clearly losing his patience. A good sign for Mason.

Mason opened the back door of the van to show the still unconscious body of Sarah. Beast Boy took a step forward, as if Mason had gone through the trouble of this whole business just to give her back for free. He was dead wrong. Mason slammed the door shut and stood in front of it to block Beast Boys path.

"Nothing in life is free." He said.

"What do you want?" Beast Boy said. "I know how you operate Mason. So just tell me what the fuck it is you want so I can leave with Sarah."

"What I want?" Mason echoed. "First thing, you have no idea how I operate. Yes I kidnap and extort people, sure. But I'm also willing to kill anyone who stands in between me and a job well done. What do I want? I want you, Beast Boy. I want you."

Beast Boy was silent and simply gave a confused and perplexed look. He didn't know what Mason was talking about.

"Allow me to explain," Mason continued, "when I last met you and your little friends I lost an insider in the U.S. Army, I lost a nuclear weapon that I was going to sell to a well paying client, and I was beaten to a pulp. In short, professionally, you and your team humiliated me. You turned me into a God damn JOKE!"

Mason paused for a moment before continuing, "You made me look like an asshole Beast Boy, I don't like it when people make me look like an asshole. So what I mean when I say 'I want you', I mean 'I want to peel your face off of your fucking skull'. Get the picture?"

Beast Boy glanced around the level but didn't move, he knew Mason had more back up than just one mercenary.

"You don't want to make a deal…" Beast Boy said slowly, "You want revenge."

Mason nodded, "You may still survive this night Beast Boy. But not without me inflicting some measure of pain on you. So how about this: you surrender, I take you in, I kick the shit out of you for making it look like I can pull off a simple job, I ask you a few questions, then you leave. How does that sound?"

"How about this," Beast Boy said as he clenched his fists, "I throw you over that railing over there and I take Sarah back with me."

Mason smiled, "That's the spirit."

Beast Boy charged forward while simultaneously changing into a large gorilla. He smashed into the first mercenary and tossed him aside with ease, but Mason had rolled out of the way just in time. Mason stood up casually as if nothing had happened and brushed the dust from his black suit jacket.

An infuriated Beast Boy raised up his gorilla fists in an attempt to crush Mason beneath his fists but he stopped and took a step back as a tranquilizer dart was shot into his chest. He snarled and ripped it out from his chest and charged forward once more. The snipers hiding from behind the cars continued to fire and pumped Beast Boy full of tranquilizers.

By the time Beast Boy made his way to Mason his ramming speed charge was reduced to a tired shuffle as he struggled to remain awake. Beast Boy threw a half-hearted punch at Mason and the arms dealer side stepped it with ease. With Beast Boy next to him and exposed, Mason produced a tranquilizer pistol from the confines of his jacket and shot Beast Boy point blank in the neck. The last shot was the one that brought Beast Boy to his knees and back to his human form.

Beast Boy's eyes were heavy, the world seemed to be spinning. He collapsed onto all fours and found that his body suddenly felt like it weighed a ton. He had to stay awake, he had to. But a swift kick to the ribs brought him sprawling down the floor.

Mason knelt down besides Beast Boy and said, "You have enough tranquilizer to take down a bull elephant, a good measurement considering that you are one, eh?" Beast Boy's eyes were beginning to close. Mason decided to reassure his enemy before he slipped off to dream land. "Don't worry, like I said you may live through this still. There's someone else out there I want more than you, Juan Fuentes. This is all part of a bigger plan my boy, and it hopefully doesn't include me having to kill you."

Beast Boy's eyes finally closed as he fell into a deep dreamless and drug induced sleep. All part of the plan indeed. Mason glanced behind to see the other mercenaries approaching him cradeling rifles that they used to take down Beast Boy. But he saw something else, a vague shapeless form. He knew it wasn't really there, he knew it was so when he heard the familiar childish voice say: "Please don't hurt them Macey."

"I won't Vincent, I wont." He said to the empty air.

"Who are you talking to sir?" one of the mercenaries asked.

"Nothing," Mason replied as he took out his cell phone, "load the boy into the van with the girl, then check on Frank and make sure he's alright."

While the other mercenaries ran off to help the mercenary named Frank who was knocked aside like a rag doll by Beast Boy, Mason dialed a number into his cell phone and then said when the line came to life, "Ramon?"

"What is it Mason?" The FARC commander spat, Mason could tell the man was still pissed. "I'm busy."

"I'm sure Alex told you about my 'sacrificial lamb'?"

Silence on the other end. He knew what Mason was talking about.

"Come to the old lodge outside the city, I have a toy I know you'll love." Mason clicked the red hang-up button and then dialed another number, the plan was going smoothly.

"Yes?" Mason heard Alejandro's voice on the phone.

"Alex," Mason said as he watched Beast Boy be loaded into the van, "two things: First, I need some soldiers to borrow. Second, I have an offer for you that I think you will find most interesting…"

* * *

Sorry if it's a little too short for your tastes. Please review. Next chapter, The Titans and Unit Zero try to find Beast Boy and Sarah while Mason's sinister plot continues to unfold, and it's effects will change the history of Columbia and may very well endager the informer's life. 


	11. Crime and

Here's the next chapter. Review soon please.

* * *

The safe house was a mess. It had been hours since both Beast Boy and Sarah had disappeared and the sun was beginning to set, everybody knew that this wasn't a good sign. At first they thought that Beast Boy and Sarah had returned without them noticing and would have wanted some 'alone time'. But as they searched the ground they found that neither of the lovers was to be found.

They scoured the safe house multiple times and called up both of them via both cell phone and Titan's communicator, they left more messages than they could count. Nothing. Everyone was beginning to panic now.

"This is message fifty." John said in an annoyed tone as he left another message on Sarah's cell phone, "Call us back already!" He hung it up and checked with the others to see how far they were coming. "Anything?"

Everyone shook their heads. John exhaled a breath and swore to himself, when you're tracking down an arms dealer that you mashed into hamburger a few weeks ago it's a bad thing when one of your team mates doesn't check in. Just then Robin walked into the room and said.

"I was checking with the local police when I heard this: one Caucasian young woman fitting Sarah's description was abducted in broad daylight by men in a black van and was pursued by a green young man."

"Beast Boy." Starfire said in a worried tone.

It took a while for John and Dan to absorb the information. But after a few minutes John echoed: "Abducted? Someone kidnapped Sarah?"

"What's the license plate, make, and model?" Dan asked as a fire burned in his eyes. "Give me any lead you have and I'll murder the son of a bitch myself."

"Nothing," Robin said, "But we do have one thing. There was a commotion heard in a parking complex on the other side of the town."

"Excessive noise?" John said in disbelief, "Our lead is a noise report?"

"Let me finish," Robin said as he continued, "the eye witness fled the scene after witnessing what he described as a green monster attack two men in dark suits."

"Dark suits?" Raven repeated.

"Mason." John said with horror, it was a poor reason to think Mason was actually behind the kidnapping. But John's pain in his arm and shoulder seemed to increase at hearing of the men in suits. "He has them. Mason has them both."

* * *

Mason started to remove his jacket and thought back to what just happened and what was about to happen. He had just kidnapped both the tech officer of a top secret CIA unit and a leading team member of the Teen Titans, an upstanding group of young heroes who spend their days fighting evil, rescuing kittens from trees, etc. and so forth.

Mason glanced back at his secured enemies behind him. Sarah had woken up but was kept strapped to a chair with duct tape over her mouth, and Beast Boy was propped up by a thick rope that dangled from the low cabin ceiling and wrapped around the green hero's wrists keeping him firmly bound. Beast Boy wasn't awake yet, but he would be soon enough.

They should've been thanking him, the Titans. He had put some spice and excitement back into their lives. He was making things interesting for them just as they were making things challenging for him. Too bad they didn't appreciate what he was doing for them, of course he doubted anyone even himself would appreciate being tortured like Beast Boy was about to be.

The thing inside nagged at Mason once more like it did when he found out about the endangered kids. It was screaming in his ears and it was almost impossible for him to drown it out or even reason with it, this thing was always annoying but Mason felt less obligated to listen to it now due to the fact that Mason's few moral scruples didn't have anything that would involve protecting Beast Boy.

Beast Boy was a hero that could probably kill Mason if he had the chance, so Mason didn't need to worry about keeping things on a level playing field. Beast Boy was almost an adult so Mason's 'no children' rule did not apply. He was in love, and that was something Mason had trouble touching, but he wasn't going to hurt Sarah so it all balanced out. And Beast Boy was his enemy, so in his own way he had this coming. Mason had his moral bases covered but the thing wasn't happy, it never liked torture. Except with Walter of course, but that was a different story.

Mason rolled up his sleeves and walked over to the table across from where Sarah was tied down to and Mason picked up some smelling salt. Just before he wafted it under Beast Boy's nose he thought back to make sure that his position was secure. Mason left the other mercenaries at the parking complex and Mason only brought one of the mercenaries with him. The only other two people in Columbia who knew where Mason was right now were Ramon and Alejandro, and he didn't have to worry about those two. Except for maybe Ramon.

Ramon was out of control. Mason had heard that the man was going insane but at first he ignored them, they were after all just rumors. But Mason had witnessed first hand that the man didn't care about anyone else so long as he got what he wanted: Columbia.

Mason shook his head and got back into the moment, tortures were always messy but this was necessary. These heroes needed to know just who they were fucking with anyway. Mason wafted the salt underneath Beast Boy's nose and his eyes shot open, only to half close again when Mason put the salt away.

"Rise and shine Mr. Beast Boy" Mason said without emotion as he produced his switchblade and flicked it open, holding the blade close to Beast Boy's eye. "We have much to discuss."

Beast Boy's eyes darted from the blade to Sarah than to Mason's face, Beast Boy's eyes narrowed. He then closed his eyes and tried to change his form into some vicious animal to crush Mason with but as his body began to change form, it faltered and reverted back to his human form. Nothing had happened. He was breathing hard now; changing his shape shouldn't have been that hard. And he didn't even succeed!

"What's the matter?" Mason playfully hissed, "Having trouble focusing? If you're wondering what's interfering with everything, I've drugged you up with various tranquilizers and other serums. I believe you will find moving you're body just as hard as changing into any animal. Don't worry about my job though; I made sure I only gave you enough to daze you. I'm sure you're still sober enough to answer my questions."

"Fuck you." Beast Boy said defiantly, "I'm gonna find a way out of this, then I'm going to break every bone in your body."

Mason nodded and then snapped his fingers. The mercenary who was with him walked up behind the chair Sarah was tied to and pressed a pistol against her blonde head. Sarah's eyes widened in fear as she realized what was going on and what was going to come.

"Try to break free again," Mason threatened, "and my associate over there will paint the walls a new color. Have you ever seen what brains look like? Or a bullet hole in someone's head."

Beast Boy struggled against the ropes and tried to help Sarah but to no avail, he was stuck.

"Look at me." Mason ordered, "LOOK AT ME!"

Beast snapped his attention to Mason but every now and then his eyes would dart back to Sarah. Mason could see the love and affection in the green Titan's eyes, it almost made him want to stop before he even got started. But he had a job to do so he continued to speak to Beast Boy. "I don't want to kill her okay? I just want to ask you a few questions and if you answer them than you get to live. But fight me than she dies and you do to. Okay?"

Beast Boy stared into Mason's eyes for a moment and then nodded in agreement, Mason had him where it hurt him the most, his heart.

* * *

"You guys head to that parking complex and see what you can dig up," John ordered, "I'll coordinate the search here and supply you any Intel we receive while you're out and searching."

"Why the fuck are you staying here?" Dan asked. Normally loyal Dan would have done whatever John would have told him too, but hearing that Sarah and Beast Boy were at the mercy of one of the most dangerous men in the world he had snapped a little inside. "Sarah's out there in the hands of some drueling lunatic and you're staying here?"

"In case you haven't noticed Dan my arm's in a fucking sling!" John shot back; he didn't like Dan's tone of voice. "What the fuck am I supposed to do?"

"Convenient that when we're facing some thugs at a school you're ready and willing to throw off that sling but when it comes to Mason you're suddenly in all kinds of pain." Dan said.

"What did you just say?" John said as he tried to keep his face from contorting into one of rage. He didn't like what Dan was insinuating.

"When you last faced that cocksucker you were almost beaten to death, a feat very none have done and lived to tell about. So forgive me if I get the impression that I think you're scared to face this guy again. Boss." Dan spat out the word boss.

"You shut your FAT FUCKING MOUTH!" John shouted in anger. Where the fuck did this guy get off? "I aint scared of this guy or anyone like him, which is more than I can say about you!"

"What do you mean?"

"I know about your drinking problem Dan!" John shouted back. "I didn't think it was a bad problem before but now I'm beginning to think that it's getting in the way of your work."

"What do you mean?"

"Friends please," Starfire begged, "Let us not fight each other while our friends are in trouble." John and Dan ignored each other.

"You know what Dan? I'm taking you off of this!" John shouted in anger. "You're no longer fit to serve on this mission."

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" Dan shouted as he charged forward and tackled John to the floor.

"FUCK YOU MOTHER FUCKER!" John shouted back as he kneed Dan in the stomach and forced his friend off of him. Dan retaliated by throwing a punch that John barely dodged and it ended up hitting him in the shoulder where he was stabbed, causing pain to shoot through his arm. John stumbled back and Dan was about to charge again when the other Titans made their move and separated the two.

"YOU CAN'T DRAG ME AWAY FROM THIS! YOU GOT THAT YOU FUCKING BASTARD!" Dan shouted in rage. "I'M GOING DOWN TO THAT PLACE RIGHT NOW AND GOD HELP THE MAN WHO TRIES TO STOP ME!"

"Fine!" John shouted back, "Get yourself killed! That isn't going to help get Sarah back!"

"AT LEAST I'M TRYING YOU PUSSY!" Dan shoved the other Titans off of him, grabbed his shotgun and walked out. No one tried to stop him.

John averted his eyes from where Dan had once stood and cursed himself inwardly. He looked up into Raven's eyes and let her know quietly that he was going to keep his promise. He regained his composure and said professionally, "Back Dan up and make sure he doesn't get himself killed."

* * *

"Now," Mason said, "there is an access code that is capable of deactivating the entire security system in the building. What is it?"

"I don't know." Beast Boy said, "Honestly, I don't know."

Mason nodded in false understanding. Mason then walked over to the table he had set up and picked up a lead pipe, a crude weapon but effective. Mason that smashed it into Beast Boy's stomach, causing the green Titan to almost vomit. But, oddly enough, Beast Boy didn't feel any pain.

"What is the code?" Mason repeated and he received he same answer. So he raised up the pipe again but then decided against it, he needed a different tool. He walked back to the table and picked up different items, a pair of brass knuckles. He repeated his question to Beast Boy and Beast Boy continued to plead ignorance. So Mason reared back a brass knuckled fist and sent it colliding with the heroes side.

* * *

A shotgun blast to the chest sent one mercenary flying, one down and six to go. Dan jumped for cover behind a car and was pinned down as they fired their sub-machine guns at him. Their gun fire soon changed direction as the Titans made the scene.

Starfire laid down a barrage of starbolts that sent the mercenaries ducking for cover while another snuck into a get away vehicle that was left behind and turned it on to make a quick escape and leave his comrades behind. The mercenary drove towards the exit when Dan emerged from behind his hiding place and fired his shotgun at the wind shield causing the glass to explode and the vehicle to veer off course, and into the railing in the center of the parking complex.

The car crashed through the railing and plummeted down the hole in the donut shaped parking complex, and then crashed at the bottom and exploded into a bright yellow ball of flame. As the rest of the mercenaries were quickly knocked out only one remained standing, Dan grabbed him and forced him near the railing that the car had crashed through, and then held him over the pit that it had fallen into.

"Where's Mason!" Was all Dan asked. "Tell me or I throw you into the fire!"

"A warehouse on the north side!" the mercenary cried out. Too bad the mercenary had been misinformed.

* * *

It had already been twenty minutes and Mason had suitably fucked Beast Boy up. He was bruised and cut and bloody, must've been painful too. He glanced behind him and saw shadows being cast outside a window to the cabin, the shadows were being created by a car as it parked itself outside the cabin. Ramon had just arrived.

Mason sighed and placed his tools neatly back onto the table. He looked back at his beaten guest and said, "Still don't want to tell me about that code?"

"I don't know any code man." Beast Boy wheezed out. He had tried to escape the torture at least once, but Sarah's muffled cries of terror as a gun was pressed against her head kept him from doing anything, rash.

Mason remained silent for a while as he heard the slamming of car doors, he only had a few more minutes to talk. "Why do you do what you do?" Mason suddenly asked.

"What?" Beast Boy gasped out in confusion. What the fuck was this guy talking about?

"Why do you help people? Why when most of them wouldn't ever do the same for you? Why?" Mason asked in more thorough detail. This wasn't business right now, this was a more personal issue.

"Because something inside tells me what the right thing is. Then I act on that." Beast Boy explained.

"This, 'Thing', what do you call it? And why do you listen to it in the first place?"

"Most people call it a conscience Mason," Beast Boy explained, "and I listen to it because if I didn't then I would not be me."

Mason nodded. He understood, it was so simple, he was far too used to thinking in complex manors that he had never thought about the thing, this 'conscience', in a more simplistic way. That and he wasn't exactly an expert on all things emotional.

"How could you have started without me Mason?" Ramon said as he walked up behind Mason. "I'm hurt!"

"I had a few questions I had to ask." Mason explained, "Besides, this kid made me look like a fucking amateur. He deserved a beating."

"Let me go. Please, at least let Sarah go." Beast Boy said. "At least let her go."

"Don't worry," Ramon said as a sadistic smile crawled across his face, "I don't want some American bitch. I want to play with you. Beast Boy, the Titan who single handedly defeated the Brotherhood of Evil. People will start taking me and FARC a bit more seriously after tonight. Pistol, please, Mason."

Mason handed Ramon the pistol. The thing inside, the conscience, shouted at and screamed at him but Mason gave him the 1911 colt anyway. It was all part of the plan. Sarah's eyes were wide and she screamed behind the tape, if she could've spoken she would have tried to make a deal.

Ramon had done a lot of damage to Columbia in the past, he was responsible for ruining a lot of lives and Mason knew it. Beast Boy was about to raise him up from the level of petty revolutionary to a force to be feared and revered. Mason could almost see the death hungry look in Ramon's eyes, all he could think about was how this was going to strike fear into his enemies and make him look like something they would always fear, a hero killer.

"Go on." Mason said as he stood behind Ramon, "You might as well enjoy yourself Ramon; you've earned what's coming."

Ramon raised up the pistol and pointed it at Beast Boys head. Beast Boy didn't move, didn't blink, and didn't even say a word. He wasn't begging or babbling or crying like how most men would when faced with a life threatening situation. He remained quiet and firm and steely eyed despite the wounds he had received. Ramon pulled back the hammer and his smile grew wider. Tonight was going to change Columbia. And Mason remained behind him the whole time.

The gunshot echoed out into the starry night…

* * *

To be continued... I'm evil I know. Did the bullet find it's mark? Did Dan go in the opposite direction he was told to and arrive just in time? Or may be Ramon's just a lousy shot and missed. Fear not loyal readers, all is not as it seems and there may be yet a happy ending. Next Chapter, Mason's plan reaches it's final stages and there will be PUNISHMENT. 


	12. Punishment

Here you go, the conclusion to the last chapter's cliff hanger. Enjoy.

* * *

The gunshot echoed out into the starry night. The smell of cordite filled the cabin. Blood began to pool on the dusty ground. And there were screams, but the screams were not the muffled ones from Sarah, they came were ones of pain. Beast Boy unclenched his eye lids and realized that he was still alive, and witnessed something he never anticipated: Ramon was lying on the ground with a bullet whole in the back of his knee, and Mason stood over him holding a smoking Ruger SR9 pistol.

Mason exhaled a sigh and said playfully, "Now look at what you made me do Ramon."

Ramon rolled onto his side, pointed the pistol Mason had given him at the arms dealer, then pulled the trigger. Click. Nothing, he pulled the trigger several more times. Click. Click. Click. Still nothing, the gun was empty.

"You really didn't think I'd give you a loaded gun did you Ramon?" Mason asked as he stood over his wounded client. He then shot Ramon in the right shoulder and the gun fell limply from Ramon's hand as he continued to scream out in pain.

"I gotta tell you," Mason said as he kicked the useless gun away just in case. "You psychopaths are so predictable it's sad. Whenever I tried to figure out a way to make you come all the way out here without bodyguards or anything I always came to the same conclusion: Live, Wriggling, Bait."

Beast Boy's mouth hung open but he said nothing, he was far too confused. His eyes darted to Sarah, she was still okay. Good, that's all that mattered. Was he just bait the whole time for this guy? Why was Mason shooting his own ally in the first place anyway?

"You're probably wondering right now: Why the fuck did the one guy I trust most shoot me twice?" Mason continued as he stooped down next to the injured narco-terrorist, his voice was calm and firm the entire time. "Like I said before Ramon, 'you've earned what's coming'."

"What the fuck are you talking about Mason?!" Ramon hissed out in pain.

"Simple Ramon," Mason continued, "I'm holding you accountable for your misdeeds. I know if you were ever captured by the Columbians of the Americans you probably would run away or cap yourself so you would never stand trial or go to jail or be punished for what you've done Ramon. So I'm going to do it for them, I'm holding you responsible for everything Ramon. Tonight you answer to me."

Ramon started to wheeze out a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Mason asked.

"FARC is going to tear you apart for this." Ramon hissed. "Starting tonight you're dead!"

"Oh I wouldn't know about that." Mason said calmly as he looked up towards the door and a figure approached from the shadows. A figure that had been waiting nearby in the foliage and only approached when he heard the gunshot. The figure was that of Alejandro Salazar, drug runner and Ramon's right hand man. Ramon's eyes widened as he slowly began to realize what was happening.

"I did a little digging Ramon," Mason said, "turns out the FARC council doesn't like you that much. In fact, they hate your fucking guts. Turns out you murdered some of the original members when you came to power because they disagreed with you and you're 'let's go to war' policy, you bullied the rest into you're corner."

"And let's call this," Alejandro said finally speaking, "a little bit of lead by example. You made an example of them and we're going to make an example of you."

"You broke the rules Ramon," Mason hissed, "we may be criminals but even we have standards. Let's see the evidence of your crimes."

Alejandro walked into another room and opened up a large freezer and pulled something back into the main room. What he dragged in was a preserved dead body of a child soldier that FARC had recruited. The child was no more that twelve.

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury allow me to show exhibit A, a child soldier." Mason said as he pointed at the body. "Look at it Ramon, because of you twenty percent of FARC's soldiers are children. I may not be the most honorable person in the world Ramon but even I know that children is a step too far, hell most of the council I hear agrees with me."

Ramon didn't even look at the dead body. For a second Mason's cold completion cracked and an endless rage flashed across his face as he grabbed a handful of Ramon's hair. "Look at it Ramon! Look at it!" Ramon struggled some more but Mason finally forced Ramon to look at the body. "SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE! Do you even know his name Ramon? DO YOU?!"

Images of Vincent and what had happened to him flashed in Mason's mind and the thing was screaming once more. But it was singing a different tune now, it wanted Ramon to suffer.

Ramon stayed silent and didn't try to defend his actions.

"His name was Daniel Martinez. You had his whole family murdered after he was take prisoner. Then you sent him onto the frontlines after your boys brain washed him." Mason paused as he became calm again. "But alright, you're stretched for troops in the war you've been waging so I can understand that. May I show the jury exhibit B."

Mason reached into the chest pocket of his silk dark purple shirt and produced a newspaper clipping about FARC's attempted attack on the school and the fair. "Exhibit B, you not only target children but you target them because you know that not in a million years you can never defeat the Columbian government or the United States Army that backs them should anything get too serious. Pathetic, really Ramon."

Ramon finally tried to defend himself this time. "You may not agree with what I do Mason but I'm trying to help the people. I'm trying to give them a better world."

Mason snapped again, he hated it when people didn't take responsibility for their own evil deeds. Mason slammed his fist Ramon's nose, breaking it. He was about to hit Ramon again when he regain control of his anger and turned to Alejandro saying, "Forgive me for that out burst 'your honor', but he provoked me."

Alejandro nodded in understanding, "Continue Mason."

"I just tried to give the people a better world." Ramon wheezed out.

"A better world? What the one like that?" Mason pointed his finger at Beast Boy who was still wonder just what the hell was going on. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury I give you exhibit C: proof that the defendant is a fucking sadistic psychopath. You were going to kill that boy over there for two reasons, increase your own notoriety and just because it makes you feel good. Doesn't it? Killing for you is like smoking a cigarette for a normal person. Just can't think straight without lighting some poor bastard up huh?"

Ramon struggled to say something in his defense but couldn't say anything coherent. Mason didn't wait for him to find a real word.

"Your honor how do you find the defendant?"

Alejandro looked down at Ramon in disgust and finally spat out that one word Mason had been waiting to hear. "Guilty."

Mason walked back to the table and picked up the lead pipe again after securing his pistol into the back of his pants. He walked back over to Ramon and knelt down next to him and said, "You have been found guilty by this court of being a psychotic son of a bitch who doesn't deserve the position of power he's in Ramon. And I here by sentence you to an eternity in Hell! You want to help the people Ramon? Well you're about too… By dying you rat bastard!"

Mason raised up the lead pipe and brought it down hard. Then again, and again, and again. He continued to beast Ramon with the pipe and only stopped when Ramon was within an inch of his life, he was alive but barely. Mason tossed away the weapon; he only wanted to inflict some pain on Ramon before giving him the coup de grace. Mason pulled out his pistol and aimed it at Ramon's head but hesitated and asked, "Would you like to do the honor's Alex?"

Alejandro pulled out his own pistol and pointed it down at Ramon too saying, "Oh no Mason. This was a team effort, we should both share the fun."

Then the two emptied their clips into Ramon's head. Mason left two bullets still in his own pistol but Alejandro fired the whole thing, neither liked the son of a bitch after what he had become. A psychotic monster, there wasn't any room for psychos in this business.

After the gun smoke cleared Mason said to Alejandro, "You are still going to protect me after this right?"

"Of course. Because of you Mason, I'm the new head of FARC. And I plan to take the organization in a 'new' direction." Alejandro said.

"And the soldiers you promised me?"

"Waiting for you where you asked them to be Mason, you kept your end of the bargain and I intend to keep mine."

"Well," Mason said after exhaling a deep breath, murder always jacked up his adrenaline even though he didn't show it. "I think we're done here. I have business to tend to and I believe you have an organization to run, 'your Excellency'."

Alejandro smiled, "I can get used to the sound of that." He then turned and left. Alejandro may not have been Mason's friend, but who knows may be they were and Mason didn't know it. Either way both got what they wanted, Ramon was dead and everybody won. Except for Ramon, of course.

Mason put the gun in the back of his pants again as he approached the tied up and perplexed Beast Boy. Neither said anything, they just stared into each others eyes, two animals waiting for the other to pounce. Finally Mason asked, "You alright?"

"Yeah," Beast Boy said, unsure of how else to answer. "I think so."

"Do you feel any pain?"

"A little, but other wise no."

"Good, because if you were wondering why you weren't feeling any pain throughout the who torture session of ours, it's because I also gave you some pain killers. You weren't my target Beast Boy, the piece of shit behind me was."

"Why'd you kill him?" Beast Boy asked.

"Good question," Mason mused, "One reason is because I have a reputation to look after and I don't want to be compares, even put in the same sentence as a cocksucker like Ramon Jalisco. Another reason is that he was out of control, I believe Jefferson said 'Law without order is more dangerous than order without law' I could be wrong though."

"So what now?" Beast Boy asked as he dangled from where he was.

"If you're wondering whether or not I'm going to kill you, don't worry about it." Mason said calmly as he rolled his sleeves back up again. "Sure you and your friends humiliated me, but after tonight I think we'll be even. Besides I didn't like who I was selling to anyway, probably would have killed them myself if I got the chance. So what happens now is I leave you here, first I have to make a call though."

Mason walked towards the table and picked up a roll of duck tape and duck taped Beast Boy's mouth shut saying, "Can't have you interfering with the call."

He then picked up Beast Boy's communicator from the table, Mason left it off since he kidnapped Beast Boy out of fear that the Titans could track it, and flipped it open and picked out Robin from the list of contacts. Robin's face immediately popped onto the screen.

"Hello Robin," Mason said, he had returned to his sinister persona. "I think you should come here and pick up your friend, he's looking a little worn out." Mason pointed the communicator at Beast Boy, he looked like hell and Mason could hear a gasp on the other line.

"What have you done Mason?" He heard Robin say.

"Nothing that you wouldn't do to me." Mason said, "But I like to be a bit more original than that so…" Mason pointed his pistol in Beast Boy's general direction and away from the view of the communicator and fired the last two shots in his pistol, none of which hit Beast Boy. "You might want to hurry."

Mason then closed the communicator, dropped it on the floor, then stomped the communicator into pieces. He knew that they could trace the call after it was made and still find him so there was no need to keep the communicator any more. He wanted them to know where he was, he guessed that it would take them at most an hour to traverse through the entire city from the false warehouse base he had misdirected them to and make it to the cabin.

Mason walked over to the chair that Sarah was strapped down to and looked the girl in the eyes; he did his best to try to soften them for her. He doubted she felt safer. Mason pulled out his knife and, after reassuring her that she was going to be alright, cut her rope binds and set her free. "You play by the rules, so you are rewarded." He then suddenly asked, "Do you love Beast Boy?"

She nodded.

"Then go ahead and help him down, I'm done with both of you. Your friends should be arriving very soon." He then walked out the door after stepping over Ramon's corpse. The black van was waiting outside along with the mercenary Mason had brought along to the cabin. He had a friend he needed to visit, and he was going to have some help with visiting.

* * *

Did you like it? Did you like Mason's 'courtroom' style? Lemme know your thoughts loyal readers. Next chapter, Mason wants the informer, Juan Fuentes, dead. And he's going to do it himself if he has to. 


	13. What Dreams May Come

Merry Christmas! I know I'm late but I was too busy enjoying my Christmas vacation. Anway, enjoy the chapter pals.

* * *

John sat silent and alone in the kitchen of the safe house and slowly messaged the scar left from the knife wound that the arms dealer Mason Thorn had inflicted. A wide variety of thoughts ran through his head as he sat in alone, regarding his friends and his job and everything else in his life. Sarah and Beast Boy were missing and at the mercy of someone whom he, several days ago, regarded as a simple criminal. And while the Titans and Dan chased down leads, John sat here on his own doing nothing.

_This is what I've become? _He thought, _a fucking couch potato? If I hadn't made that damn promise then I'd... _He exhaled a deep breath before continuing on his train of thought. _Who gives a fuck? I made the promise and that is that. I told Raven that I'd avoid trouble so here I am, I'm just going to have to get used to the fact that I'm useless right now._

Raven… It had only been a few days since he had kissed her back in the infirmary of Titan's Tower but he could already feel something within whenever his thoughts would trail towards her. A feeling he hadn't felt since Kate. It was a thing that made him feel invincible and would almost obliterate the feelings of pain in his arm or the feelings of doubt from his past. Raven was doing more good for John than she realized.

John's eyes glanced downwards at the file in front of him, 'The Salesman' case file, Mason Thorn's case file. If it had been a few days ago then John would have taken all the information in the file as concrete and undisputable evidence that Mason Thorn was a bad guy, a gun running monster. Yet, after the past few days and two separate encounters, John was beginning to feel doubts about the picture painted in the files.

If Mason was such a scumbag then why did he deliver clues that helped save kids? And why did someone he believed hated him save his life? And there was also the moment the two first met in person, Mason knew what he was doing was wrong so what does that all mean? John's eyes scoured through the papers in front of him and he was unable to find a single psychological profile or anything regarding as to what went on in the bastard's mind, not even a guess. So what was going on up there?

Then there was the kidnapping, and what it entailed. The others searched for Sarah and Beast Boy but John had decided to stay behind, and now Dan thought he was some kind of coward. Usually John didn't care what his coworkers thought of him because most the coworkers he had in the past were either dead now or were assholes too him. But Dan was an exception, he was like a brother to him, and the fact that his brother hated his guts now killed him inside. Sure, he cares about someone and that someone ends up despising him. Fucking fantastic.

Then there was Blake. Blake was Kate's father, and although he said that he had forgiven John for what had happened to his daughter, it didn't change the fact that John had yet to forgive himself. The two always had an awkward air around them whenever they spoke about anything other than business and John wanted so desperately to simply look at the man as someone who was no more than another boss who gave orders. But he kept seeing him instead as a victim of his negligence.

And finally Juan, poor son of a bitch. His condition had improved since the Titans had moved in but he still knew that a monster was on his trail and he was still a nervous wreck on the verge of flinging himself in front of a bus just to make himself feel better. In fact the only thing that kept him sane was the fact that he was going to be paid a large amount of cash that he could use to give his two little girls a good education and a new life for protection. Too bad the guy didn't know that the CIA was using him as bait to get Mason coming… Bait… Bait for a trap… A trap that was useless without the Titans there at the safehouse… John's eyes widened as he realized something.

_Sweet Jesus.

* * *

_

Just then the lights went out, and not just in that room, in the whole building. Things were about to go straight to Hell in a matter of minutes.

A monster's smile crept across Mason's face as he watched the safe house go dark. Mason had learned everything he needed to know about the safe house before he launched the attack: He knew that the safe house didn't operate on it's own private generator but operated instead on the city's electric power line, it took a small bribe to get someone down at Bogotá's power plant to shut down all the power at the safe house and everything else in a five mile radius.

He also knew that the Federal government had left the Bogotá safe house under funded and understaffed. So the only resistance Mason would find would be a CIA agent or two and a handful of AUC soldiers who would be stumbling around in the dark and fumbling with their miniature flashlights. None of them would stand a chance against the FARC soldiers who now waited behind Mason in black vans similar to the one he was in now that was full with at least six other people, all soldiers and everyone of them had night vision goggles.

Mason held up a radio to his mouth and said, "Go."

The series of five black vans drove forward across the road and towards the gated fence that stood between them and Juan Fuentes. The car in front accelerated and smashed its way through the gate. Immediately the cars spread out and parked and men in dark tactical clothing hopped out and burst through the front door with their AK-47's raised. Two unfortunate AUC soldiers who were standing in the dark were gunned down; the gunshots alerted everyone in the house.

"Get Juan somewhere safe!" John ordered an AUC soldier as he heard the first gunshots. John ran out of the kitchen with his Five Seven drawn so he could see what had just happened, he should have stayed in the kitchen.

Every single AUC soldier in the building that was carrying a weapon had assembled in the darkened main hallway to see what was going on, but before they could point their tiny flashlights at the attackers many were gunned down. The AUC soldiers fired randomly and aimlessly into the darkness in hopes of hitting at least one or two of the FARC attackers. The flashes of gunshots illuminated the room almost once every two seconds the shots were being fired so fast and it even made the whole hallway look like some kind of sick slide show animation.

John hung back and realized one simple and absolute truth in regards to the situation he was now in: without the Titans to help, they were all screwed. It would only be a matter of seconds before the FARC soldiers overran the AUC guards and eliminated Juan, and John's arm was still in the damn sling.

John tore off his sling once more thinking, _So much for keeping my promise_. He picked up his own flashlight and held it in his injured arm so as not to overstress it, then rushed into the fray. John's plan was simple, rush from one hallway door to one directly across, in fact the only bad part of the plan was the fact that the hallway had turned into a stream of bullets.

John timed it jut right and waited in between gunshots to cross the hall. He shined his flashlight in the goggled eyes of two FARC soldiers, blinding them. When they raised their hands to block out the light burning into their retinas John shot both of them twice in the chest, then he hopped into the doorway and disappeared into the dark.

_He who fights and runs away right?_

Mason walked into the battle just as it was beginning to end, but no one could say he hadn't tried. He walked in the middle of the small army of FARC soldiers and was carrying his Ruger SR9, in fact the only reason he had shown up at the end of the battle was that the battle wasn't so much as a battle as it was a massacre. The government forces never stood a chance.

"Find Juan Fuentes!" Mason ordered in Spanish, "But no one kills him, understand? He's mine!"

Just then a FARC soldier behind Mason was shot in the chest and he fell down dead. Mason spun on his heel and fired at whoever was aiming at him and caught him in the shoulder. Commander Blake dropped his weapon from his injured hand and stood where he was, clutching his arm in pain, and staring at his enemy in the eyes.

Mason noticed that the man was unarmed and he couldn't tell whether or not he was carrying a side arm, although he highly doubted it.

_Shoot an unarmed man? Hardly seems sporting now doesn't it?_

Mason shot Blake in the right let just above the knee cap, then shouted to one of his men: "If the old man moves, kill him." A nearby FARC soldier produced his side arm and pointed it directly at Blake's head, but he didn't look too concerned due to the fact that he was now nursing both an injured arm and an injured leg.

"We found him sir," said a voice in Mason's earpiece, "come up to the second floor, he's in the indoor balcony." Mason said he was on his way and hurried up the stairs and burst through a door that two of his men stood by, must be the place. And sure enough, when he went through those doors he saw four of his men standing guard over a man who sat at a white couch and who was trying desperately to hide his fear. Poor bastard.

"Juan," Mason said quietly, "it's been a while old friend."

Juan looked up at Mason but said nothing, and Mason continued to talk. "You've been giving me a lot of trouble Juan. What with turning me in and all."

Mason paused to let his words sink in, he had planned this moment for quiet sometime and was hoping to make the moment as enjoyable as possible, but one slight fact kept him from enjoying that moment: Juan was clutching a photo of a strikingly beautiful Columbian woman and two little girls, Juan's family.

"All I wanted was a better life for them," Juan finally said, "a life away from all of this… This violence and hatred… In 1949 thousands of people were killed in riots alone. I didn't want my children to grow up in a place like this, I wanted to give them the chance at life I never had."

"Well you won't have to worry about the violence anymore," Mason replied casually, "Ramon's dead."

Juan looked at Mason with eyes filled with both curiosity and hope that was so powerful that it all but washed away the fear he felt for his own life. He couldn't believe the concept, a Columbia without Ramon Jalisco… It was too good to be true.

"He's dead? How? What does this mean?" Juan stuttered.

"Yes he's dead," Mason restated, "And as to how: I beat him with a lead pipe then shot him repeatedly in the head. And as to what it all means, well, let's just say I left FARC in quite capable hands. But I digress, I'm here for you Juan."

"Ah yes," Juan looked back down at his family, Mason wished the man would stop doing that… It was killing his desire to kill the man for talking. "Will you leave my family alone?"

"Now I'm insulted Juan," Mason said acting hurt, "You know me, I'd never hold your family responsible for your sins. You know that."

Juan nodded in understanding and brushed away a tear that slowly trailed down his cheek as he continued to stare at his photograph. He stifled back more tears as he choked out a: "I just love them so… So very, very much… They don't deserve to suffer because of me… Can you do me one last favor Mason?"

Mason nodded.

"Will you please leave my face undamaged… My daughters should have one last chance to look me in the face and say goodbye." Juan put blinked away some more tears as Mason nodded again, he would honor his last request.

Mason knelt down and looked Juan in the face as he rasped out, "Good night old friend…" Two shots rang out as Juan was forced back into the couch by two bullets fired being fired into his heart at point blank range. Blood spattered over Mason's face and he brushed it away with the arm that held the still smoking SR9. "For in that sleep of death, what dreams may come…"

Mason raised up two fingers with his free hand and used them to close Juan's eye lids as he stared vacantly into nothing. Mason said in a low raspy voice to the men who stood behind him, "Three of you destroy the vans, one of you assemble the men in the backyard, the last can lay down a flare and signal the helicopter to pick us up."

His men nodded and left.

_Damn you Juan,_ Mason thought as he turned and slowly departed from the room of death, _You just had to hold that picture, just had to make me make a promise, just had to be a decent God damn human being. _Mason felt sick in the pit of his stomach, he always felt that way after killing an innocent person. It wasn't right and he didn't need the thing inside to tell him that, it was just so much easier when his victims were criminals and deserved it… He had no qualms about eliminating those types, but men like Juan was different. He couldn't enjoy killing men like Juan.

_And here I was planning a lovely evening with that man and I had to cut it short… Too bad._

Mason arrived back on the first floor again just as his men were beginning to make their way to the backyard to be picked up by the FARC helicopter that was flying in to pick them up. All according to plan, until Mason thought he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Before he even knew what was going on, he instinctively ducked down and narrowly missed a bullet that found its way into another FARC soldier's head.

John peaked out from behind a wall and fired some more hoping to hit Mason, the brains of the outfit. But he missed as the arms dealer took cover behind a near by wall, and John had to relocate to behind an overturned table as the FARC soldiers fired at his previous hiding spot. They hadn't seen him though, but they knew he was there. He had to kill them and Mason or at least survive until local police or the Titans showed up.

_God help me.

* * *

_Review soon. Next chapter, John tries to survive in a not so safe house now populated by FARC soldiers while the Titans rush back to provide reinforcements. Happy New Year! 


	14. Dead To Rights

Welcome to '08 pals! Here's another chapter for you, it's a little lengthy but I think it's worth it. Some sequel news, I will be including supervillains in the next sequel and it will take place in the following locales: Bucharest, Jump City, Moscow, a military base in Siberia, and a non-descript jungle in the Golden Triangle. Anyway, here's the chapter. Enjoy.

* * *

The same thoughts ran through John's mind as he crouched behind the hard overturned table and reloaded his Five Seven. His heart rate was jacked thanks to the large doses of adrenalin pumping through his veins, fear threatened to cloud his senses as he remembered constantly that he was outnumbered by at least a dozen FARC soldiers.

_OH SHIT. OH SHIT. OH SHIT. OH SHIT. OH SHIT._

He peaked up from behind the table and saw that the FARC soldiers were scouring the place with their green night vision eyes, looking for any trace of the one who took a shot at their boss.

John knew that despite the hard wood that made up the table it wasn't bullet proof, he needed a new hiding spot. If he had a bigger gun or some more aid for covering fire he would be able to run backwards to a pillar directly behind him that was far more sturdy and better suited for blocking bullets.

_Fuck it._

John rose up from behind the table and shined the light into several green eyes to force his enemies back and shot at the ones who didn't retreat. He kept firing as he ran backwards through the room towards the pillar that would provide him cover, all the while dodging bullets from some very pissed off soldiers. He heard a bullet whiz by his ear as he finally pushed his back against the large pillar and prayed to God almighty to do something to get him out of this mess.

_I didn't make a promise to avoid trouble just to get gunned down by a dozen armed soldiers and their psychopathic gun running boss. Damn. There's got to be a way out of here._

John was so deep in thought that he didn't notice that the soldiers had stopped firing at someone's order.

_I could make it to the back door and run for it… Then they'd probably just put a couple bullets in my back. Son of a bitch. Maybe I should just wait them out, the Titans are sure to come back soon or something. Wait, why did they stop firing…_

"John?! John Garret?!" He heard someone shout from behind a wall.

"Yeah?!" He shouted back. Whoever else was shouting started laughing a little from behind the wall that he was using for cover.

"You weren't supposed to be here!" The person shouted, "I mean… I go through all the trouble of kidnapping your friends and you didn't leave with everyone else? Am I becoming predictable or something?"

"Mason." John said to himself, but it had become so quiet with the ceasefire he wouldn't have been surprised if Mason had heard him from behind his wall. "You know I think of you every time I try to use my arm!"

"I thought of you every single pain filled day I spent on the boat ride over here!" Mason shouted back.

John fired a shot in Mason's direction but was quickly forced back behind the pillar once more. He was pinned down.

"Looks like we got you caught in a little crossfire Johnny!" Mason taunted, "Face it! You are out gunned, out fought, and out maneuvered! Just give it up already!"

"Never." John hissed before shouting back powerfully, "I'd never surrender to a piece of shit like you!"

"Why?" Mason asked, "What's worth you getting yourself shot to pieces for, huh?"

"Because of you and people like you!"

"Me? Well I am fucking flattered! I'll be sure to carve my name on your tombstone after you get yourself shot to Hell. Of course I cant really blame you for thinking I deserve to die, I do after all…"

"It's not that you deserve it Mason." John explained, "There are plenty of people who deserve to die, but killing them isn't what drives me to stand up to you and your kind. It's the fact that if I kill you tonight, even at the cost of my own life, I will save some other poor bastards life. Many people, innocent and guilty, will live if you or I die, and I'm willing to pay that price!"

"I see…" Mason mused, how very interesting. He paused and a deep silence fell upon the room as no one dared to move or speak.

"It's a nasty business isn't it?" Mason suddenly asked, changing the subject. "Killing one's closest allies and… Friends."

"Juan was your friend?" John asked with astonishment in his voice. "You never really struck me as the 'close relationships' kind of person."

Mason laughed in his throat at that. "No. But then again, I haven't had a friend since I was thirteen. May be I just don't know what a friend is. But Juan felt like a friend to me… I trusted him with many things…"

"Felt like Hell when you had to pull that trigger huh?" John asked, almost forgetting he was talking to the enemy. "Knowing that you were taking away the life of someone you knew inside and out, someone who had a life worth living but you still take it away… I can relate to that."

"You get close to them," Mason almost whispered, "and then they shut you out. And you have no choice but to kill them because, in the end, it all comes down to you or them. Just like it did now."

"After all you've been through, all you've shared…" John said as his memories rose up to him, familiar and dark unwelcome ones. "They turn against you so quickly, and they give you no choice but to…"

* * *

_Her hair was short and dark, and she was dressed in a dark red shirt with jeans. She walks down a back alley in the heart of the city, she doesn't even know that she's being watched. She's his friend, the two worked together so closely in the Project: Ghost operations. So close… How the Hell did it come to this._

_It didn't matter. She had turned on him and her country and everything she once stood for when she took part in the uprising. She was the enemy now, she wouldn't hesitate to kill him if she had a chance. So he shouldn't._

_John follows her down the alley, closing the distance quickly. She doesn't even hear or feel him coming. All she feels is his arm wrap around her head and tilt her neck slightly to make room for the syringe of poison he's holding._

_She struggles at first, kicking and swearing at him. But the syringe goes in quickly, and the poison is pumped into her bloodstream and distributed to her body quickly. Her struggles die down quickly as she soon becomes sleepy, she's now more focused on staying alive then breaking John's grasp._

_John lays her down and looks into her eyes as she slowly slips away. He holds her the whole time until she's gone. She was his friend, she deserved to die a quick death. And her death will have saved many lives due to the bombing she had planned later that month. John had done the right thing._

_But he still felt like Hell for doing it.

* * *

_

"Give up." John heard Mason say once more, "You're wasting both our times. Just let us all walk away John and no one gets hurt."

John thought of a way to answer when all of the sudden his cell phone went off, vibrating in his pants pocket. The FARC soldiers were alarmed at first and almost opened fire once again at the pillar that protected John but Mason ordered them to stand down, he knew it was harmless. No sense in wasting good bullets. Even if he did call for help, it was far too late now.

John flipped it open and listened.

* * *

"Thank God you're alright." Starfire said with glee as she hugged a now untied Beast Boy.

Those words were used many times when the Titans and Dan finally located Sarah and Beast Boy in the cabin. Even though the communicator was destroyed, Cyborg still worked his mechanical magic as he traced the call to its point of origin. And when everyone arrived they were all delighted to see that Beast Boy and Sarah were unharmed, but repulsed at the sight of two dead bodies: Ramon's and that of a dead child soldier.

Paramedics soon arrived and checked up on both, Sarah was unharmed and left her in the care of Dan and the Titans and left her with nothing more than a blanket draped over her shoulders as the other paramedics checked out Beast Boy before loading him up into the ambulance.

"Is he going to be alright?" Robin asked in a worried tone, he had seen the damage done to Beast Boy's body and he figured that he must have been beaten within an inch of his life. He was surprised at the response.

"He's perfectly fine actually," A paramedic replied in accented English as he was about to hop in to the ambulance too, "But we want to hold him at the hospital overnight so he can get his rest." He turned to jump into the back but was stopped when Robin grabbed his arm, he wasn't through with his questions.

"You make it sound as if nothing happened to him," Robin said, seething at the paramedic's attitude. "Look at him! He's a mess!"

"Yes, I see that." The paramedic said as he yanked his arm away from Robin's vice like grip. "But you don't understand… He is perfectly physically fine. All of his wounds seem to be superficial and harmless, thanks to his superhero physique. The greatest threat to his health seems to be the drugs he was pumped with and those seemed to be in controlled doses." He paused before saying, "Whoever did this knew what he was doing, and what he was doing wasn't aimed at killing this boy."

"Are you alright?" Dan asked gently as he tried to look Sarah in the eyes but she kept staring off into the distance vacantly. "Sarah, it's me Dan. Sarah?"

"She's in shock Dan," Raven said as she stood behind him, "She just watched a man get killed and someone she loved get tortured, best to just leave her alone for now and let her cope with what she's seen."

"What the fuck do you know about coping?" Dan hissed as he glanced over his shoulder at her, "I've been on battlefields before, I know how to handle this. So fuck off."

"She isn't a soldier Dan," She continued, ignoring his previous comment. "She needs time to herself and you're just acting like this because she's close to you, so you need some time alone too."

"Who the fuck are you to tell me what I need?" Dan asked as he rose up and faced her, "I should…"

"Where's John?" Sarah whispered. "I want to talk to John."

Dan hesitated to responded he thought about what to say before kneeling down next to her again and saying, "He wanted to be here Sarah. He really did. But he couldn't because his arm was acting up and he was in pain and…" He trailed off as he struggled to give her a reason as to why someone she looked up to wasn't present at the moment.

"It's all my fault…" She whispered as tears began to form, "If I had been more alert, if I had seen it coming then Beast Boy wouldn't have ever gotten captured and…"

"That wasn't your fault." Dan reasoned, but to no avail. You can't reason with a psychological condition.

"He hurt him…" She whispered as if it was like some sort of bad dream, "And then the man came in… And he hurt him too…" Her eyes widened in horror as it came back to her. "He shot him, then he hit him so hard with a pipe… His head caved in and there was blood everywhere but he was still alive. Dear God he was still alive! I can still see the pain and fear on his face. Oh God! Oh God!"

She started sobbing uncontrollably and Dan wrapped his arms around her and tried his best to comfort her. She cried into his chest and when she began to get control of herself he looked down on her and said, "Then man was Ramon Jalisco, he was FARC's leader. I wouldn't waste any tears over him."

"Who can do such things?" She whispered, "So much hate in his eyes, that evil burning rage. What kind of a monster can do that to another human being? Even if he was bad, no one deserves to suffer like that!" She started to sob again and Dan's words had triggered this fit.

Raven stood there all the while listening, and feeling. She was an empath after all, she could feel all the emotions around her, especially the ones coming from Sarah. She was a tidal wave of emotions ranging from fear to anger to sadness then back to fear again. Poor thing. She knelt down next to Sarah and said, "It's going to be alright Sarah, John will be on his way soon, he just needs Dan to call him in." She turned and faced Dan, "Right Dan?"

Dan looked at her then back to Sarah before deciding, Raven was far better at this emotion thing than he was. He stood up and started to walk away but stopped and looked backwards before saying, "Sorry Rae, for being a dick and all that…"

"It's not like I didn't see it coming." She said in a monotone despite the fact that it was an attempt at humor.

Dan smirked at that and walked away as he pulled out his cell phone and dialed John's number. He was still angry at him, but it had been awhile since the two tangled back at the safe house and Dan was beginning to wonder if he had been a little too harsh on his leader. It wouldn't have been the first time that he over reacted either. He put the phone to his ear as it began to ring and finally John answered.

"Yeah?" John asked in a tired and hushed voice. It was oddly quiet in the background and Dan could already tell that something was off.

"Hey John," Dan began awkwardly, "It's me. Just thought you should know that we found Beast Boy and Sarah. Alive too, thank God."

"Yeah, thank God."

"And, umm…" Dan said hesitating, "Sarah's a little shaken up, she's been asking for you. So maybe…"

"You want me to come down Dan?" John finished for him. "Well I don't think I can, something's come up down here at the safe house."

"Oh yeah, what?" Dan asked as he tried to hide his growing anger, "What the Hell is more God damn important than your friends, huh?"

"Well, for one, we have visitors." John said, "Turns out Mason and his pals decided to stop by for a visit."

Dan went cold and didn't say a word when he heard that.

"And secondly, I think Juan's dead."

"Are they still there?" Dan asked, not sure what to do for once.

"Yeah. I'll try to stall them. Just…" now it was John's turn to hesitate as he struggled to find the proper words. "I'm sorry Dan, for what I said back before you left… I shouldn't have said that."

"Fuck that," Dan said, "forget about me and just stay where you are and don't move. We're coming to get you…"

"Tell Sarah that I'm sorry I wasn't there for her tonight." John continued.

"Don't talk like that mate just… Just wait for us."

"And tell Raven…"

"You can tell her yourself."

"No!" John shouted before regaining himself. "Just listen, please… Tell Raven that I love her and that…" he cleared a lump from his throat before continuing, "And that I'm sorry that I didn't live up to my promise, she'll know what you mean. I wish I could have spent more time with her."

"Shut the fuck up John! We'll get there in time, don't talk like a dead man!"

"Goodbye."

The line clicked as it went dead. John had hung up, and Dan was left shouting into the cell phone even though John wasn't there.

"John! John!" He shouted, praying that he could hear him somehow.

"What is it?" Raven asked as she stood up, she had heard the whole thing but wasn't sure what was going on. "What's wrong Dan? What happened?"

"You and Star are the fastest you get in the air and you fly as fast as you can to the safe house, me and the others will catch up later." Dan ordered. "Don't question it just GO!"

"What's happening!"

"Mason's in the safe house!" Dan shouted back. That was all he needed to say, Raven's face became even paler as she felt a cold shiver run down her spine. She immediately took off towards Starfire. Hopefully they weren't too late.

* * *

John closed the phone as he hung up and pressed it to his forehead, he had such wonderful friends. If only he had gone with them, if only he had spent his time with them better.

"Let me guess," Mason said, "personal call?"

John swallowed another lump in his throat. "Why the fuck do you care?"

"Because it puts you in a rather awkward position doesn't it John?" Mason explained, "You have two choices now: You try to make a go at me, and you might succeed in killing me, but you'll be gunned down by all these soldiers who are around me. Second choice, you stay where you are and you let us walk away."

"Why would I do that?" John asked as if he didn't already know the answer.

"Because, unlike me, you are surrounded by people who care about you John." Mason said, "Stop thinking about just you and me, and start thinking about them. If I die, no one will miss me. But if I kill you, can you imagine what that would feel like for your friends? All that pain and all that grief? Do you really want to put them through that?"

The sound of a helicopter echoed in the night, it flew over the top of the safe house and then hovered over the backyard as it slowly lowered itself to pick up the FARC soldiers within the building along with Mason.

"Ah," Mason said, a hint of triumph in his voice. "well I'd love to stay and chat all night John but I have places to be so if you'll excuse me." Mason walked out from behind the wall and started to was about to walk down the hall towards the back yard.

John arose from his hiding spot and pointed his Five Seven at Mason's head.

The FARC soldiers who were scattered about pointed their automatic weapons at John but Mason shouted, "No! Hold your fire!"

He stood there and looked into John's eyes. His cold ruthless eyes staring into John's warm professional ones. Neither moved, nor spoke, they just stood there. Two completely different young men, both being held at gunpoint. Dead to rights.

"Time for a decision John." Mason said, "Which is more valuable in your life? The world you believe should be protected or the people you love most? Roll the dice and make your choice. Or I'll make it for you."

John didn't move, he just kept his pistol aimed at Mason's head. Sweat began to trickle down the side of his head as he debated the options in his mind. "Juan had a wife and two children and all he wanted was a better world for them," He said, "and you killed him. He wasn't the first innocent you claimed and I know for sure that he wont be the last."

"So then take the shot already and save someone's life." Mason said, "Or get the Hell out of my way."

John narrowed his eyes as tears formed in his eyes at the thought of how the others would react to his death. He could see it all, the tears and the pain. It would be selfish to throw away his life without thinking of them all, but it would be cowardice to simply think of ones self instead of helping others.

_I can't make this choice. I can't._

And so he stood there, unable to perform the simplest of acts of either pulling the trigger or raising his hands in surrender.

"You made an admirable stand John." Mason said, "But I must be going now." Mason signaled his men to follow him as he slowly made his way to the back door. The soldiers followed with their guns still aimed at John while John kept his gun still aimed at Mason. He kept his gun on the arms dealer until he left, and even then he couldn't lower his gun. He couldn't even bring himself to move from that spot. He just stood there, frozen, defeated.

_I let him get away._

Mason hopped into the helicopter and watched the safe house begin to disappear into the night air as the helicopter began to make it's ascent towards the starry heavens. He could almost make out two figures flying towards the safe house: Raven and Starfire.

_Impecable timing as always._

If he had just gotten away with murder of anyone else, Mason might have enjoyed the moment and reveled in the thrill of a successful hit. His reputation was restored, he was feared once more. But at the same time he had to eliminate someone he had worked with closely, and not just that but his mind was always on his family. All but ruining any enjoyment Mason might have gained from the kill.

He put his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes, wincing only a little when his fingers would rub over the still bruised areas of his face. He had only a few loose ends to tie up, then he was leaving Columbia. A new plan was formulating in his head, it had been there since he killed Ramon. He had much work ahead of him.

Raven and Starfire burst through the front door. Starfire was weary for enemies and her eyes scoured the darkened rooms for any signs of an enemy. Raven, however, was more concerned about one thing: John.

They split up and Raven continued to search the lower levels and prayed that John wasn't amongst the dead bodies scattered around the floor. She found him towards the back, standing next to a damaged pillar and aiming his gun at the back door. A vacant expression on his face and tears threatening to leave his eyes.

"John!" Raven said excitedly as she rushed towards him but stopped as she felt the emotions emminating from him. Two were most prominent: Regret and Self-loathing. "John?"

He looked at her but didn't move in any other way and kept his gun aimed at the door. She put her hand on his arm and gently pushed his arm downwards in an attempt to make him lower his gun. It slowly began to move down as she whispered, "John? Are you alright?"

"I let him go." He said in a hushed monotone, "He murders an innocent man, and I let him go."

* * *

Hope you liked it, review soon. 


	15. With You

Fucking writer's block is kicking my ass. So here's a quick chapter to let you all know I'm not dead. P.S. if you have any suggestions for the next story let me know in your coming reviews. GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT! Anyway, here you are.

* * *

"…_You've earned what's coming."_

"_Exhibit A…"_

"_Look at it Ramon! Look at it!"_

"_SEE WHAT YOU'VE DONE!"_

"_Forgive me for that out burst 'your honor', he provoked me."_

"…_You rat bastard."_

_BAM!

* * *

_

Beast Boy's eyes shot open as the gun that killed Ramon went off in his head. The dream was so vivid, so real that it was almost as if Beast Boy was experiencing the murder all over again. He put a hand to his eyes and rubbed the sleep away from them, then paused for a moment as he heard a familiar noise…

Beep. Beep. Beep.

It was a heart rate monitor. He shot up and looked around as he realized that he was laying in the clean white bed of a Columbian hospital. He only looked around his surroundings twice before he winced in pain, his wounds hurt like Hell.

_Could be worse BB, remember that, now on your feet. _He ordered himself.

He disconnected himself from the heart rate monitor and hopped down onto the cold hospital floor, his feet making a _PAT_ sound on the floor. He stumbled a little, and steadied himself on the wall, then moved awkwardly and steadied himself on the doorless opening.

_How long have I been out?_

He shook his head and was about to walk into the open hallway when he was stopped by a nurse who was yelling at him in Spanish. She didn't look to happy to say the least. She kept on yelling at him in Spanish and, unfortunately for our green hero, Beast Boy didn't understand Spanish.

When he finally was able to get in a word edge wise he said jokingly, "Yeah, I left my Spanish/English dictionary back home. So if you'll excuse me I'll…"

He tried to side step her but she got in his way and kept yelling at him in Spanish.

"Oh, I can tell we're both making progress now."

Just then someone else said something to the nurse in Spanish, whoever it was was standing behind the nurse so Beast Boy couldn't see the person. The nurse turned and looked at the person, then nodded in agreement and walked away. The person who was talking to her was someone Beast Boy was more than happy to see, Sarah.

But she looked different. Sarah now looked to be paler, there were bags under her eyes as if she hadn't slept at all since the night of the abduction, and she had an overall sickly look to her. But that didn't matter to Beast Boy, to him she looked just like her old radiant self.

"Sarah!" He exclaimed in joy as he ran, and stumbled forward. He almost fell over but it didn't matter, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her in the most loving fashion he could muster. "I never stopped thinking about you. I was so worried and…"

"Beast Boy," Sarah whispered. Best Boy stopped talking and looked into her eyes; she leaned in and kissed him. "Stop talking."

When they finally broke away Beast Boy looked at her good and hard and saw that, despite the passionate kiss, all was not well with the young girl. "What's wrong Sarah?"

She helped him back into the white hospital bed and then said sheepishly, "I just want to be with you right now…"

"Is this about last night Sarah?" Beast Boy asked, worry creeping its way into his voice.

"Nothing can happen when I'm with you…" she said, ignoring his question. "So please, let me stay. Please."

Beast Boy nodded, he didn't know just what was going on or how he could help her, but if her staying near him made her feel better than… What the Hell right?

She lay down next to him and rested her head on his chest as he soothingly ran his fingers through her hair. She smiled a sweet smile as she became more comfortable, and then her eyes slowly became heavier and heavier. And then, after going hours without sleep, Sarah Ashwood fell asleep in the arms of someone she loved.

Beast Boy smiled at this. And he soon joined her in a deep slumber.

* * *

Short, I know. One or two more chapters than I move on to the next story. Till then, see ya. 


	16. Regret

Here's the next chapter. And sorry if I was a little confusing LordHalo, here's what I meant: there's only a few more chapters before I move on to the next sequel for my series, and I was wondering if you wanted to see anything in it before I started writing. Anyway, enjoy.

* * *

It had been several hours since the safe house attack and the sun had risen once more on the beautiful city of Bogotá, Columbia. Raven stared out of the window of the expensive suite that the CIA had decided to re-setup shop in, and stared out into the morning skyline. It was a beautiful site, unlike any she had seen back home in Jump City. 

So began another day. And thank God for that, especially after how the last one ended. In the span of a few hours, Mason Thorn had single handedly managed to abduct a member of a top secret spy team, out maneuver and abduct a member of the Teen Titans, torture that member (lightly, apparently), then pull a one-eighty and kill his own client. Not just that but he also misdirected the Titans purposefully and murdered an informer in his own organization. Quite a night, one that John still hadn't forgiven himself for.

When she found him, he had a lost look on his face and couldn't stop saying: "I let him go." It took him a while but he eventually opened up and told them what had happened, including how he had had a chance to kill Mason but blew it because he valued his own life. And now he couldn't stop punishing himself for it.

The others were still in bed now and Beast Boy and Sarah were staying at the hospital. Poor girl, she was still recovering from her shock. Right now the only other people who were up were herself, John who was sitting in his room, and Dan who was trying to talk to him. Eventually Dan emerged from the door to John's room and stood before her, he looked tired.

"How is he?" she asked. She could feel John's mixed emotions, he blamed himself for Juan's death, and she had hoped that maybe someone close to him would bring him back to his senses.

"I'm going to be honest here," Dan started, "I don't know shit about this whole helping people deal with personal problems stuff." He exhaled a sigh before continuing, "In fact, the only person I think who is qualified to help that guy out is you." Raven attempted to say something but Dan cut her off, "Raven, if there is anybody on the face of this earth who can make John feel better right now, it's you. I've seen the way he looks at you. Trust me, you're the one he needs."

John was lying on his bed with various case files scattered about on the floor, all of which were connected to Mason, when Raven walked into his room. His eyes were boring holes into the ceiling as he stared wit an empty gaze, his thoughts were too busy on the fact that Juan was dead. He could still see his body being carried away, a blood stained picture of his family clutched in his lifeless and bloody hand.

"John?" Raven asked as she stepped into the room and shut the door behind her, she felt a combination of worry and pity for John when she saw him. She could feel his chaotic emotions: anger, regret, doubt, self loathing, all the feelings you would expect to find in someone who is suicidal. But that wasn't John, even if she didn't know him so well she could tell he wouldn't take that way out.

His eyes rolled over to her. He inhaled a deep breath and put one of his hands over his eyes as he said, "Morning Rae." He sat up in his bed, he looked tired and beaten. "I was just going over some old files involving Mason. I was hoping I could find some hint as to where we might find him…" He was speaking in a very professional manner, cold and detached, not a good sign if you want to make them feel better emotionally.

"I know what you're feeling John." She said, getting straight to the point.

"…It's been Hell trying to figure out where he'll be headed, he has contacts all over the world…" He ignored her previous statement.

"John, look at me." She said.

He averted her gaze, kept his eyes down cast at the files as he continued to speak, not wanting to answer her. "…I don't know where we should start in the manhunt…."

"John." She said gently and soothingly as she knelt down in front of him, "John. Please look at me." He kept his eyes to the floor, she put her fingers under his chin and slowly tilted his head upwards so that she could see his eyes. A tear was forming in his right eye as he scowled in an attempt to maintain what was left of his professional demeanor. "John please," she cooed, "talk to me. Please."

That single tear trailed down his cheek as he spoke softly, "I have been fighting this fight for years. And everything I've ever done, no matter how good or bad I thought it was, was to protect those who needed to be protected. To save those who need saving. Even when it meant me having to track down those I loved, I knew that if I didn't someone innocent would die. And that has always been, and always will be, unacceptable."

"Juan wasn't your fault." Raven gently reassured as she used her powers to sooth his pained mind, even though she seemed to be accomplishing little. All she seemed to see in his mind was gunshots, blood, and screams of terror and pain.

"Yes he was." John reassured right back. "My bosses came up with some sick plan to use him as bait and I didn't say anything to try and protect him. And then he gets murdered by the one person he feared most in the world, and I did shit to stop him from walking out of that door." John shook his head as his brow furrowed, "I let a killer of an innocent walk free, that's no different that pulling the trigger myself."

"John, listen…" Raven started but John quickly cut her off.

"No you listen!" He exclaimed, "Look at all of this!" He motioned to all the files littering the floor, "Mason Thorn transports drugs! He sells guns to terrorists and madmen! He robs banks and murders anyone whom he sets his evil eyes upon! He has done more damage than anyone else I have ever seen, and I had my gun aimed right at his head! And what did I do? What the fuck did I do?! I wimped out at the last second!" He paused for a brief moment before saying, "I am responsible Raven. Responsible for everything…"

He was cut off with a hard slap to his face that quickly silenced him. Raven looked him in the eyes as she spoke passionately, "Alright John, if you're done sobbing over the past let me tell you something: You may sell yourself short because of all the things that have happened to you in your past, but you are not responsible for all the world's problems okay. Yes, Mason killed Juan. And yes, you had a shot at killing him and you didn't take it. But you know what? You made the right choice."

John was silent for a moment before repeating quietly, "I made the right choice?"

"Yes you did John, and it is painful that you don't see that. Look at the people around you John: Robin, Cyborg, Star, Beast Boy… They all think you are a great person, an admirable person, and if you had superpowers and a cape they would probably offer you a place with them back at the Tower." She let that sink in before moving on to her next fact, "And look at Dan and Sarah. They idolize you, you are their superman. Whenever I ask them what the right call would be in a tough situation they always say: 'John will pull us through'. You're like a father to them."

John stayed silent.

"I felt Dan's pain after he left the safe house last night, after he walked away from that fight he had with you. He felt ashamed, because he believed that he, in some way, let you down John. You. You are angry at yourself for not risking your life? What about those kids back at the school John? You were willing to be killed because you believed that those children didn't deserve to die. And feel this…" She poked him hard in his wounded shoulder.

John winced in pain and grabbed his shoulder, but that didn't stop Raven. She continued to speak, "That pain in your arm, that knife wound that has caused you so much trouble. That was a sacrifice you were willing to make to prevent a nuclear warhead from falling into the wrong hands. Damn it John, you have done so much good in your life but you always fail to see it because you still feel guilty over what you had to do in your past! And it breaks my heart to see you like this."

He couldn't look her in the eyes, because he knew that she was right and yet here he was, carrying on as if he had murdered Juan Fuentes. He put his face in his hands and said simultaneously as he exhaled a breath, "Christ. What the fuck is wrong me? Why the fuck can't I just…"

"Hey," Raven said, her voice gentle and soothing once more. He looked at her, he was almost ashamed to do it but he looked into her eyes as she knelt before him. She wrapped her arms around him and embraced him in a way to let him know that he wasn't alone in his troubles. Raven was never the sensitive type, nor the hugging type, but John was the exception. She loved him. She knew it with all her heart and she would do anything to keep him going.

"Thank you." He whispered, "If it wasn't for you, I'd probably try to drink myself to death like Dan does."

"How did you know Dan had a drinking problem anyway?" She asked, remembering the two fighting back when they were last together in the safe house.

"He's always had a drinking problem." John jested, but that was a good sign, it showed that he was recovering psychologically. "But seeing him try to sneak a little something extra into his water bottle tipped me off too."

Raven smiled that rare smile. If God casts miracles, seeing someone like Raven actually smile was one of them. It was enough to brighten any man's soul, almost made John wonder why she didn't smile more often.

"You have a beautiful smile." He confessed affectionately.

Her faced flushed a light shade of crimson, another wondrous sight. John wanted to do such things, he wanted to just reach out and touch her. But he wouldn't, he was more respectful than that. So he settled with gently brushing his hand against her cheek like he did back when he lay dying in that warehouse. He leaned in to kiss her, but was interrupted by some very loud and annoying knocking.

"Should have seen this fucking coming." John muttered under his breath as he waited for Dan's voice to inevitably follow.

"John!" Dan's voice shouted from the other side of the door, "You've got to get to the phone, now. It's him!"

"The bosses back in Washington can wait Dan!" John shouted back.

"No it's not them." Dan said urgently, "It's _him_!"

John immediately picked up on what his friend meant. He looked at Raven, then immediately sat up with her and both went for the door. Dan addressing John with this much urgency wasn't just anything, it could only mean one thing actually. It must've involved _him_, Mason Thorn.

* * *

Review soon please. About two more chapters by my count. And will my annonymos could you please ive me a description of the General's personality and if you would like it, I will try to have Mason answer the statement you left in your review. Next chapter, John and Mason exchange verbal blows. 


	17. Wrong Number

Here's chapter seventeen, the second to last chapter. I intended for Mason and John to pretty much spend this chapter mocking each other but decided to make it more of Mason rubbing his victory in and John swearing to take him down. Well, enough of this synopsis, on with the show!

* * *

Mason sat in his little hideout, all of his clothes and other legitimate items already packed away inside two black suitcases, the rest of his short list of possessions had been moved to another safe house that Alejandro had set up for him. Now he sat at his desk with a cell phone, a yellow highlighter, and a copy of TIME magazine. He leaned back casually in his chair as he read the segment that had merited the honor of being on the cover, it's title read: _The Market of Misery._

Clever. He always did like it when the press put cute names on to subjects that would otherwise appall and depress the readers. It helped to trick more and more people into reading a seemingly harmless story only to find themselves wanting to send a very large check to the proper charity that was opposing whatever the story was on. But a simple trick of words wasn't why Mason was reading the article, oh no. In fact, he wasn't that sure why he was even reading it, or feeling anything in regards to the subject anyway.

He didn't really know why he was reading the magazine, he knew everything there was to know about the subject. In fact, he knew quiet a few people mentioned in the article, and he was quiet familiar with their sins. Apparently since the last time he checked up on his Eastern European friends they had become quiet… Naughty. Looked like he was going to have to pay a few people a 'visit'.

But all that aside, this Thing was becoming an annoyance, and quickly too. After he had taken care of dear old Walter and started playing the arms dealer game with Nikolai, Mason saw that compassion and caring and empathy and all of that rubbish brought in with humanity needed to be buried, or else it could cost him his life if his clients and allies thought he was soft. And so, he tried to kill the Thing, but he only succeeded in turning it into a mere whisper. Now look at it, it was a voice screaming in his ear to do 'the right thing'. Christ, this was annoying; did all normal human beings feel this way in regards to their emotions?

Oh well, at least he was going to be having a bit of fun with the men and women mentioned in the article.

He shrugged these past things off as he picked up the cell phone and called the hotel he had found out that the CIA had set up in. It was quite easy to find them really, apparently whoever made the arrangements asked the AUC for recommendations, the same AUC that FARC had managed to bribe information out of in the beginning. He put a cell phone earpiece into his ear due to the fact that he had both his hands full with the magazine and the highlighter as he dragged the highlighter across another fact in the article.

"_Poor Eastern European countries are the areas in which the traffickers seem to inhabit…"_

The phone rang a few times until someone picked up, someone with a rather gruff voice that Mason identified immediately. "Dan," Mason said in a rather cheery tune, "how wonderful to hear your voice again. How are the others doing? Can I speak to them?"

Silence on the other end of the line. He wasn't sure if Dan was trying to figure out what to say to him, or if he was getting the others. He read the article a little more during the very short way and highlighted another sentence.

"_Countless young women and young children are tricked or forced into this horrible business…"_

Finally he heard another voice on the line, a voice that he knew all too well. Mason smiled a little as he said, "Good morning John, how did you sleep?"

He heard John clear his throat. "You've got some set of balls to call here."

"That and it's just so fun to know that I'm getting under your skin." Mason replied, "Have you ever approached an enemy just to witness him squirm? It's stuff like that that get me out of bed in the morning."

"You torture my friend, put my sister into a deep state of shock, and you murder a government informant." John said, listing off Mason's most recently committed sins. "Now let me tell you something you heartless son of a bitch, starting today I am going to dedicate every single resource I have to tracking you down and bringing you to the justice you so rightly deserve."

Mason nodded as he highlighted two names. "Speaking of justice," He finally continued, "have you seen the news lately?"

"What?" John was a little confused and caught off guard, although he should have anticipated it with Mason's history of taking conversations in whole new directions. "No, why?"

"Well if you turn on the TV to the local news channel right about…" Mason paused as he glanced at his watch, "…Now. You'll see a reason to be a little happier. Don't worry about me, I'll wait."

There was silence on the other end again. Good, that gave Mason some more time with the article. He highlighted another name as well as one more sentence.

"…_The Russian mob is heavily involved in the business and has made millions off the suffering of the innocent…"_

He liked that particular sentence, it put some nice dramatic horror into the article. In fact, the more and more he read the article, the more and more he began to like the new plot that was beginning to churn and form within his head.

* * *

John glanced back to Dan and Raven with a confused look as he stood in the kitchen of the hotel room. He had considered waking up the other Titans but he knew that Mason was planning on keeping this conversation short, he had to or else there was a risk that his mostly likely well protected phone line would be traced and give away his position.

"Turn on the TV." John ordered Dan. "Local news."

Dan turned it on and went to the right channel, and sure enough staring at them was FARC's new leader: Alejandro Salazar. It was a pre-recorded tape most likely, and it was all in Spanish, but everyone in the room knew what he was saying.

"I wish to make it known that FARC will not follow down the same path that my predecessor had placed it upon." Alejandro said, "So, I invite the president of Columbia to a session of negotiations and peace talks in regards to a cease fire and…"

John didn't need to see anymore of it. He new who Alejandro was, and he knew that he valued his drug business far more than FARC's military potential. It was no real surprise that he was making this move, doing so made it so he could focus all of his powers solely on drug running and the cease fire would make Columbia's allies, the United States, back off and stop cracking down on his cocaine.

"I saw it." John said, a lack of emotions in his voice. "So what's your point?"

"What's my point?" Mason echoed, "Ramon has gained his just rewards for his misdeeds, the general populous are safe, you have one less enemy to hunt down, and Columbia and FARC are well on their way to peace. All is right with the world…"

"And all it cost was a dirt nap for Juan Fuentes." John added.

"For Christ's sake," Mason groaned, "you're not still angry about _that_ whole thing are you?"

"Of course I am. He was an innocent man and you knew that. And I'm sure there are plenty of more innocent people you are going to kill."

"Innocent? Innocent?!" Mason said in a offended manner, "This may come as surprise to you but compared to the real criminals and trash out there I keep innocent deaths at a minimal. There have been two other occasions in which I had to use lethal force on an innocent, two and that is it. The rest that I killed more than had it coming!"

"Had it coming?" John echoed with slight curiosity. "Like Ramon?"

"He was a special one." Mason said, "Wanting to conquer Columbia is something I can tolerate, but children? Most people have the common sense to know that fucking children is step too far, but he was no different than the others. He believed he was beyond punishment, so I decided too…" He paused as he searched for the proper word, "educate him. And let him know that no one is beyond their punishment for their misdeeds. I'm a monster, but I'm a monster with _some_ standards."

He highlighted almost an entire paragraph that quiet caught his eye as he spoke:

"_The victims of this heinous trade, almost all of which are young and of both sexes, are submitted to constant pain both physically and psychologically to make them more submissive. These sick disciplinary measures include low grade torture, abuse, and often times rape…"_

"And you're right, I guess. If you define men like Ramon as 'innocent' then you're very right, he wasn't the first and he definitely won't be the last." Mason could not hide the contempt in his voice as he thought of Ramon and the other men he had to do away with in the past who were no different. He began to furiously highlight a name with such intensity that he almost tore the magazine apart.

John glanced around at Dan and Raven, they had gathered around the phone and listened to the conversation intently as Mason spoke through the speaker with the volume loud enough for everyone to hear but they didn't speak though, this conversation was between John and Mason, no one else. But that last bit had made them a little curious about Mason's previous victims, Raven remembered John saying something about Mason eliminating two criminals. Were there more than that?

"You really didn't like him," Raven finally said, adding her own voice to the conversation. "but why? Him living made you money, so why kill him?"

"Who is this?" Mason asked, he was surprised to hear a feminine voice on the other end, it was a monotone that seemed to hold no emotion but masked much more than it truly held, he could relate to that. "I know it's not Sweet Little Sarah, so you must be one of the Titans…" he knew a little about the Titans but only the basics, "Guessing by the voice… Raven? Correct?"

Raven glanced at John, he didn't seem to have a problem with her talking to him. "Yes it is. And you're Mason Thorn right?"

"Indeed miss."

"The gun runner and murderer?"

"Guilty on all counts… And more." He said slyly.

"Well from what I've heard you profit from the pain of others." Raven said, she heard Mason give a 'it's a living' grunt on the other end. "So why kill Ramon and end a war that could have made you rich? I don't see how you profit from it."

"True." Mason answered, "I could have made millions off of what Ramon was doing, I could have bought a big house in the French Riviera, bought a different car for a different day in the week, and saved up enough to go into retirement and leave this whole life behind me. But, you see my dear, I have this annoying little problem. Despite my best efforts to not give a shit about these people, I find myself desiring to protect, no avenge, them when men like Ramon are involved. I could've become a very rich man, but it means nothing if I can't look myself in the mirror. I killed Ramon out of simple principle; he violated the rules so I paid him a 'visit'."

He highlighted one last bit of information:

"_Police around the globe have cracked down on buyers around the world, but those who sell these people often walk away with no one testifying against them and unpunished. Sex slavery has grabbed Eastern Europe in a vice grip and it will not let go, and judging by police reports, there is little anyone can do to stop it…"_

Mason glanced at his watch, it was time to be going or he would miss his flight. He spoke softy as he said, "Well, I enjoyed our little chat but I really must be going, I have a few friends that I need to 'visit'."

"You do realize," John said, speaking up once more. "That, no matter what you say, I'm still going to hunt you down for what you've done and everything you did."

"I would expect nothing less." Mason smiled, "Give my love and regards to Sarah and Beast Boy, God knows those two need it." He then hung up the phone. He let that conversation go on for far too long, but he couldn't resist the opportunity to let his enemies know that he had gained the upper hand. He picked up his suitcases and took one last glance behind him before leaving for the airport. He was going to be very busy in the months ahead. The monster was back.

* * *

A single tone sounded off as the line went dead. John put a hand to his chin as he thought things through, _He's jerking us off_, he thought, _he wants to put us in our place and make it look like he's the one in charge the fucking bastard._

"Well that was…" Raven paused, "Unique."

"Principles." Dan mused, "Almost makes the cocksucker sound admirable."

"Principles or no," John declared, "We are going to take him down for everything he's done. We're going to nail this bastard to the wall next time we get the chance."

"I would think that would be very painful." A light and bubbly voice said behind them, they all turned to see an awakened Starfire standing in the hallway, rubbing sleep from her eyes. "Who were you talking to?"

"Wrong number." Dan lied. She didn't need to know.

* * *

There you are. One more chapter to go. Next chapter, John pays Juan's family a visit and Dan talks to Beast Boy. AKA I wrap things up. See ya. 


	18. Epilogue

Welcome to the final chapter of Titans Zero: Justice for All. Fear not though loyal readers for all your favorite characters will return in the next sequel, read to find out the name. I would also like to thank my newest review, Lady of the Celestial Moon, please keep reviewing and I hope to see your reviews in the next installment. Also, to my annonymous friend, that was a good suggestion for a line and Mason would have loved to have said it, oh well I guess. Oh and he also liked what you had to say about justice, what he has to say about justice is this: Lex Talionis, cross the line and I'll rip out your heart and burn it. Anyway, on to the chapter!

* * *

Epilogue

Beast Boy slowly stirred out of another deep slumber, his heavy eyes slowly opened to see that Sarah was no longer in the room but someone else stood in the doorway, someone who, quite frankly, Beast Boy didn't want to meet right now. Dan crossed his arms over his chest and asked as he leaned his back against the doorway, "How ya holding up kid?"

Beast Boy shifted uncomfortably in his hospital bed. The two weren't friends, but after that drinking night they were at least cordial to each other, but all that seemed down the drain now. Dan was probably going to blame him for everything that had happened, and Beast Boy mentally prepared himself for a berating.

Dan approached Beast Boy with an odd stare and finally sat down in a chair next to Beast Boy's bed. He exhaled a deep sigh before saying, "You had an eventful day yesterday."

Beast Boy prepared himself. He could almost envision the venom dripping from Dan's mouth.

"You and Sarah were captured and now she's in shock, recovering of course, but still in shock. And it's all because you didn't come to us first…"

"If I did he would have killed her!" Beast Boy said in an attempt to defend himself, but he was cut short when Dan raised his hand to silence him.

"I know," He said, although his face remained unchanged Beast Boy could sense the onslaught coming. But then Dan said something Beast Boy wasn't expecting, "Thank you."

Beast Boy was silent. He really was unsure on how to respond to something like that, here he was anticipating some verbal abuse from the man and he was thanking him? What the hell did he mean?

"You went along with what he said," Dan started to explain, "and as a result it led to you being captured and Mason, instead of focusing his wrath on Sarah, he focused it on you. You knew the risks going in Beast Boy, you were willing to risk your life to save hers… And I respect something like that in people… I really do."

Now it was Dan's turn to shift uncomfortably in his chair, Beast Boy could now see that doing this was very awkward for Dan, and Beast Boy wasn't sure whether or not to feel honored.

"I know I haven't exactly been the most… _Understanding_ person when it comes to you and Sarah," Dan continued, "but all of that was before I truly knew you. Drinking with a guy is one thing son, but willing to risk your life for someone you care for… That's a whole new league." He paused a little as he kept his gaze at the floor, only occasionally glancing up at Beast Boy. "If it satisfies you, then you have my blessing to date Sarah."

"Wow," Beast Boy said sarcastically, regaining his confidence at seeing Dan in such an awkward state. "and all it took was me getting drunk with you and getting tortured. Hate to ask what I'd have to do if I asked her hand in marriage."

Dan cracked a smile, "Don't push it kid." He laughed. "If you do I might have to make you kill a guy."

There was a slight awkward silence that hung in the air as Beast Boy wondered_: is he joking?_ But the awkwardness cleared up when Dan started laughing first and slapped Beast Boy's leg, an implication that it was all alright.

Beast Boy slowly started to laugh too. "So does this make us friends?" He asked.

"It makes us acquaintances," Dan corrected, "but that doesn't mean you and I can't get plastered after you get yourself out of this fucking bed."

"I don't know," Beast Boy sighed, "I pissed Sarah off enough after the last time…"

"Awww don't worry about it," Dan reassured, "I'll be the designated driver." He paused a little before continuing, "It seems John thinks I have a little bit of a problem with my drink, and ever since this whole God awful mess started last night I've been trying to cut back."

"Well that's no fun…" Beast Boy added.

"Speaking of fun," Dan said, his mood brightening a little, "take a look who I managed to sneak in here." He stood up walked over to the door and shouted, "Come on in guys!"

And with that not only did Dan walk back into the room but he was also followed in by Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, and (a happier looking) Sarah. Immediately they all swarmed around his nice white little hospital bed and immediately began to congratulate him on his courage and wished him to get well soon.

Starfire wrapped her arms around Beast Boy and gave him one of her signature bone crushing hugs. "It is so good to see you well friend Beast Boy!" She exclaimed as she squeezed harder.

And, despite the fact that he was wheezing, a smile crept across the changelings face. It was good to be around friends again. Robin applauded Beast Boy's courage and Cyborg joked around with him and jokingly hit him in the arm, unaware that he was hitting one of Beast Boy's still healing bruises.

"Where's Raven and John?" Beast Boy finally asked when he noticed that they were not amongst his many friends.

"John had business to finish up." Dan told him, "Raven decided to go with, for support. Turns out he felt obligated to visit Juan's family…"

* * *

John stood awkwardly within the lobby of the Bogotá mortuary. It felt odd to suddenly make the transition from the thick heat of the outside to the cold clean interior of the mortuary, but it was no where near as awkward as John felt now. For, just down the stairs into the basement lay what once was Juan Fuentes and there also stood his wife who had arrived to identify his body. 

He didn't have to do this, and it went against all of his training to make himself known to a civilian for personally reasons but he felt obligated to do so. He got Juan into this, and if he was any kind of decent he would at least comfort the man's wife damn it.

He swallowed a lump in his throat and walked down the staircase before him and soon enough he stood in a large room with metallic squares lining almost every inch of the walls. These 'squares' undoubtedly were temporarily housing the remains of men who had gone the same way as Juan had now. It didn't take long for John to spot Juan's wife, she stood over the only open 'square' in the whole room and was surrounded by one doctor, he most likely worked there, and two cops who were working the murder but were going to get nowhere.

She was a beautiful woman, well into her thirties, and held a certain radiance to her, despite the fact that she was looking down on the corpse of her husband. A single tear trailed down her face, but she never lost her beauty despite the sadness nor the tears. She looked more like a painted window you would see in a beautiful cathedral, a window that would depict an angel kneeling over and weeping over a long past human being.

She said something in Spanish but John was too far away to hear it. But judging by the fact that everybody was leaving her be, she probably asked for a few minutes alone. John waited until the others had gone up the stairs and left before he approached her with slow steady steps, he wanted to let her know she wasn't alone yet.

"I asked to be alone." Was all she said, she didn't even look at him but just continued to stare at the corpse with a deep hearbreak that John had never seen before in anyone.

"I knew him," John said softly, "your husband. He was a good man, I only wished that I knew him better."

"Who are you?" She asked as she finally looked at him.

John then did the only thing he could do, he lied… Sort of. "I'm working in conjunction with the local police in regards to the investigation into your husbands murder…"

"You're wasting your time." She cut him off, "You'll never find him, I know what kind of a man my husband used to work for and you will never find him. You're wasting your time."

Ouch. Sharp girl, but still… Ouch

"That's why I'm here, now." John began again, "I, unlike the local police, am not confined to just here in Columbia and…" He paused for a moment, "I just want you to know that I'm not going to give up on catching you husbands killer. I promise you."

She looked deeply into John's eyes. John felt the urge to just look away as the feeling of someone peering into his very soul put him on edge. But she finally broke away as she looked back down at her husband, she ran her fingers through his hair and kissed his pale and cold forehead. She looked back up and whispered out a: "Thank you." Followed by, "Now will you please leave me with my husband for a while."

"You're never going to see me again," John said honestly, "So I just want you to know a few things now. Like how it will be difficult for you to make ends meet now that Juan is gone…"

"I'll get by." She said meekly, as if she wasn't convinced by her own words.

"You won't have too." John said, "Juan always stressed to me how badly he wanted some money in payment for the information he wanted so he could take care of you and your daughters. Well, I just think you should know that I've put through his request to my employers. I'll make sure you get the money."

She looked up with astonishment in her eyes, she knew what he was talking about. Immediately she opened her mouth to ask so many questions that began to cook in her head but before she could John simply said, "Please don't make me answer any questions." He said, "I don't want to have to lie to you… I'll leave you with your husband now."

And with that he turned and walked away. She didn't try to stop him, she didn't even shout or cry after him to stop, she just let him walk away and disappear from her life forever. It was the wise choice.

John stepped out of the morgue and back into the Bogotán mid-day heat. He inhaled deeply then let it all go while he slowly rubbed the knife wound in his shoulder. So much pain and death had come and gone, true peace had settled into Columbia through the partial help of a monster. But there were still other battles to fight, other wrongs to right, more lives to save.

He looked up to see that Raven was waiting for him across the street. John smiled the same kind of smile Raven loved so much as he remembered that he wasn't going to fight those battles alone, the Titans were with him.

He crossed the street and stood in front of her and together the two walked down the street together towards the hospital where Beast Boy lay. They would all rest and lick their wounds and rise again stronger. For together, there would be justice for all…

* * *

End of Titans Zero: Justice for All

Remain vigilant readers and be on the look out for the next installment:

Titans Zero: Russian Roulette

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See you in TZ: Russian Roulette everybody! Now I gotta go research some more on the Russian mob and the slave trade for the plot. Till next time fans, see ya later! 


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